TransTasman risks, page-39

It is not just my argument, the prospectus included it as a risk. IPH will lose the national phase filing business but it is were the profits are made.

Inovia is the largest filer of PCT applications for third parties. The international ePCT application is progressed to the national phase by inovia and after filing the responsibility for the application is transferred to attorney firms to manage the prosecution stage. http://www.rws.com/about-us/news-events/news/287-inovia-is-ranked-1-in-the-world.

The ePCT national phase arrangement would be similar but does not use Inovia.

Inovia is not used by many large corporates or attorney firms. Corporates dont like the risk of moving files around or their payment terms or having additional people involved in the filing process. Attorney firms dont use inovia as they get reciprocal work in return for sending filings to foreign attorney firms. Despite this inovia is the largest filer in the world.

ePCT removes those risks. The ePCT system is understood, trusted and already used by attorneys and patent filing depts around the world. www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2012/06/article_0001.html
Corporate patent depts are educated users of the ePCT system and they would save a fortune at national phase filing costs. Foreign attorneys in private practice have an incentive to use it for they could charge their clients for filing into other countries. Any user of ePCT would be told about the new facility and could see it in the system.

I expect it will be quickly adopted if the pilot is successful.