14 January 2010

Patent Cooperation Treaty
(PCT)
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Done at Washington on June 19, 1970,
amended on September 28, 1979,
modified on February 3, 1984, and on October 3, 2001

The Contracting States,

Desiring to make a contribution to the progress of science and technology,

Desiring to perfect the legal protection of inventions,

Desiring to simplify and render more economical the obtaining of protection for inventions where protection is sought in several countries,

Desiring to facilitate and accelerate access by the public to the technical information contained in documents describing new inventions,

Desiring to foster and accelerate the economic development of developing countries through the adoption of measures designed to increase the efficiency of their legal systems, whether national or regional, instituted for the protection of inventions by providing easily accessible information on the availability of technological solutions applicable to their special needs and by facilitating access to the ever expanding volume of modern technology,

Convinced that cooperation among nations will greatly facilitate the attainment of these aims,

Have concluded the present Treaty.

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS
Article 1
Establishment of a Union

(1) The States party to this Treaty (hereinafter called “the Contracting States”) constitute a Union for cooperation in the filing, searching, and examination, of applications for the protection of inventions, and for rendering special technical services. The Union shall be known as the International Patent Cooperation Union.

(2) No provision of this Treaty shall be interpreted as diminishing the rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of any national or resident of any country party to that Convention.

Article 2
Definitions

For the purposes of this Treaty and the Regulations and unless expressly stated otherwise:
(i) “application” means an application for the protection of an invention; references to an “application” shall be construed as references to applications for patents for inventions, inventors’ certificates, utility certificates, utility models, patents or certificates of addition, inventors’ certificates of addition, and utility certificates of addition;
(ii) references to a “patent” shall be construed as references to patents for inventions, inventors’ certificates, utility certificates, utility models, patents or certificates of addition, inventors’ certificates of addition, and utility certificates of addition;
(iii) “national patent” means a patent granted by a national authority; (iv) “regional patent” means a patent granted by a national or an intergovernmental authority having the power to grant patents effective in more than one State;
(v) “regional application” means an application for a regional patent; (vi) references to a “national application” shall be construed as references to applications for national patents and regional patents, other than applications filed under this Treaty;
(vii) “international application” means an application filed under this Treaty;
(viii) references to an “application” shall be construed as references to international applications and national applications;
(ix) references to a “patent” shall be construed as references to national patents and regional patents;
(x) references to “national law” shall be construed as references to the national law of a Contracting State or, where a regional application or a regional patent is involved, to the treaty providing for the filing of regional applications or the granting of regional patents;
(xi) “priority date,” for the purposes of computing time limits, means:

(a) where the international application contains a priority claim under Article 8, the filing date of the application whose priority is so claimed;
(b) where the international application contains several priority claims under Article 8, the filing date of the earliest application whose priority is so claimed;
(c) where the international application does not contain any priority claim under Article 8, the international filing date of such application;

(xii) “national Office” means the government authority of a Contracting State entrusted with the granting of patents; references to a “national Office” shall be construed as referring also to any intergovernmental authority which several States have entrusted with the task of granting regional patents, provided that at least one of those States is a Contracting State, and provided that the said States have authorized that authority to assume the obligations and
exercise the powers which this Treaty and the Regulations provide for in respect of national Offices;
(xiii) “designated Office” means the national Office of or acting for the State designated by the applicant under Chapter I of this Treaty;
(xiv) “elected Office” means the national Office of or acting for the State elected by the applicant under Chapter II of this Treaty;
(xv) “receiving Office” means the national Office or the intergovernmental organization with which the international application has been filed;
(xvi) “Union” means the International Patent Cooperation Union;
(xvii) “Assembly” means the Assembly of the Union;
(xviii) “Organization” means the World Intellectual Property Organization;
(xix) “International Bureau” means the International Bureau of the Organization and, as long as it subsists, the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI);
(xx) “Director General” means the Director General of the Organization and, as long as BIRPI subsists, the Director of BIRPI.

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