Before you file in any foreign or international IP authority an application to protect an invention made in the United States, one must first obtain appropriate authorization from the USPTO. The ways such authorization may be obtained are: (1) filing an application with the USPTO (which is considered to include a petition for a foreign filing license) and waiting for a foreign filing license to be issued, (2) filing an express petition for the issuance of a foreign filing license, or (3) waiting six months after filing an application in the USPTO at which time a license on that subject matter is no longer required as long as no secrecy order has been imposed.
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