Protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are major components of

international trade and scientific corporation and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) has ushered an
era of international cooperation in the diverse intellectual property systems with reference to
patents.
Meaning of Patent
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that
provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a
problem. In order to be patentable, the invention must fulfil certain conditions.1
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) 1970
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is the special agreement under Paris Convention for
international cooperation towards harmonization of patenting at the international level. The PCT
is an international treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
between more than 140 Paris Convention countries. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent
protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing a
single international patent application instead of filing several separate national or regional
patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional
patent Offices in what is called the national phase. It doesnt provide for the grant of
international patents. The responsibility for issuing patent remains solely with the patent offices
of member countries as per their rules.2
Emergence of Patent Cooperation Treaty
From an unstructured beginning around the Fifteenth Century in Italy, the patent system has
attained some formal status through specific statutes in various countries around the world. With
the onset of Industrial Revolution, the modern patent system was catalyzed for commercial
exploitation of inventions. From time-to-time, the patent system has undergone changes to keep

1* LL.M student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, Email- anubha0608@gmail.com.
Retrieved from < www.wipo.int/pct/en >, on 6 November, 2012 at 11.23 IST.

2 PCT The International Patent System>> yearly review, 2011 at pg. 4.

pace with rapid advances in science and technology as well as with the evolving international
trade practices.
The traditional patent system requires the filing of individual patent applications in each country
where the patent protection is sought, with the exception of various regional patent systems such
as African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) System, the Harare Protocol System of the
African Regional Industrial Property Organization (ARIPO), the Eurasian Patent System, and the
European Patent System. Most importantly, the applicant has to incur expenses for translation,
patent attorneys or agents in various countries and payment of fees to the Patent Offices, all at a
time at which he often does not know whether he is likely to obtain a patent or his invention is
really new compared with the state-of-the-art. Moreover, every single Patent Office with which
an application is filed has to carry out a formal examination of every application filed with it.
Each Patent Office has to make a search to determine the state-of-the-art in the technical field of
the invention and has to carry out an examination as to its patentability.
In order to reduce the duplication of the effort both for the applicants and the National Patent
Offices, an idea was mooted in 1967 to bring about international cooperation in patenting. As a
result, a draft of an international treaty was prepared by the United International Bureau for the
Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI), the predecessor of World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), which underwent revision later. Subsequently, a Diplomatic Conference
held in Washington in June 1970 adopted a treaty called the `Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The treaty came into force on 24th January 1978, and became operational on 1st June 1978 with
an initial 18 contracting countries. As on 1st September 2003, as many as 122 countries are party
to the PCT. India joined the PCT with effect from 7th December 1998. Currently administered by
WIPO, the PCT is open to countries party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property. Instruments of ratification and accession must be deposited with the Director General of
WIPO. Thus, the emergence of PCT is one of the major attempts to simplify the patent system at
the international level.3
PCT is facilitating treaty and one of the most significant advancement in international
cooperation in the fields of patents. The principle objective of the PCT is to provide a more
efficient, effective and economical means for protection in several countries. As per conventional
system, an inventor has to file separate applications in each country where he desires to seek
3 Retrieved from < www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/articles/atoc.htm > on 5 November, 2012 at 2.15 IST.

protection for his invention. Under PCT system, the inventor has required to file a single
application in one language having effect in each of the countries parties to the PCT, by
indicating the names of the countries where he desires the protection. This system also involves
the formal examination of the international application by a single office and also international
search on the prior art. The national patent offices are free to examine the application form from
perspective of national legislations and charge the fees for the same.4

4 Rajeev Ranjan, PCT system and its impact on Developing Countries, Journal of Intellectual Property
Rights, Vol. 8 Jan 2003, pg 50- 57.