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I wasn't one of the downvoters referred to by Martin Maloney, but I can confirm that there is no such thing as a worldwide patent. Max is right. You can make an initial application via the PCT route but it splits out into national applications at an early stage, long before grant (unlike the EPO route, where the EPO "grants" the application then it automatically becomes a national, granted patent in the countries that have been designated (ie several national patents rather than one)). The proposed UPC uses the EPO route but you end up with a single patent across the designated (currently only EU) countries.