On 9 March 2017, Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Saja Majali, deposited her country’s instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.
Jordan thus becomes the 152nd Contracting State of the PCT.
On 9 June 2017, Jordan will become bound by the PCT. Consequently any international application filed on or after 9 June 2017 will automatically include the designation of Jordan. Also, because Jordan will be bound by Chapter II of the PCT, it will automatically be elected in any demand filed in respect of an international application filed on or after 9 June 2017. Furthermore, nationals and residents of Jordan will be entitled, as from 9 June 2017, to file international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty is an international treaty. It has more than 150 Contracting States. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries. Users file a single “international” patent application. They do not file several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent Offices. The period is called “national phase”.
The Patent Cooperation Treaty is used by the world’s major corporations, research institutions, and universities. By it, they seek international patent protection. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual inventors also use the PCT.
