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PCT success story: the Ciari folding electric guitar

May 19, 2022

The guitar industry is global, given the ubiquity and importance of music worldwide. Due to the highly innovative nature of our guitars, we sought international patent protection in the key markets for guitar manufacturing. We did so for two primary reasons: 1) to protect our innovation against counterfeiting and 2) to increase the value of the company.

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(Photo: Ciari Guitars)

The ease and cost effectiveness of filing a single PCT application for our invention was incredibly helpful, especially as a start-up with limited funds. We also appreciated the options afforded by the PCT system, being able to defer costs while assessing the business case before entering the national phase. Lastly, but certainly not least, we found the International Search Report (ISR) and the Written Opinion (WO/ISA) of the ISA very helpful in providing an advance view on the potential patentability of our invention before incurring the costs of national phase entry. The ISR and WO/ISA were also helpful in providing confidence to our current and prospective investors as to the strength and reach of our global patent portfolio.

  • Submitted by: Jonathan Spangler, co-inventor, agent, CEO and founder of Ciari Guitars, Inc.
  • Application number: PCT/US2016/048047 (WO 2017/180177), PCT/US2018/056802 (WO 2019/079782)

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