Introduction
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system facilitates the process of pursuing patent protection in multiple countries. As by filing a single international patent application under the PCT, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries, that reached 156 countries in 2022. Under the PCT system, the priority date of the international patent application is claimed in any one of the PCT contracting states, when designated in the national phase.
The situation in the Arab world
Among the current 156 contracting states of the PCT, there are 17 Arab countries, shown in table I. Iraq is considered the last Arab country joined to PCT system, where PCT has entered into force, for Iraq, on April 30th, 2022. However, PCT system is not applicable in the remaining Arab countries, including Lebanon, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Mauritania, and Palestine. In this context, it is worthy mentioning that, up till now, both Somalia and South Sudan basically do not have local laws regulating granting or enforcement of patents.
In addition, although all the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), are members in the PCT systems, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) itself is not a member. This means that a regional GCC patent application cannot be a base for an international patent application under PCT system. And vice versa, The GCC patent office is not a receiving office for PCT patent application.
Time limits for filing a national phase in the Arab members:
According to PCT rules, the time limit for entering the national phase in the countries is 30 months from the filing date of the PCT application or from the earliest priority date of the application if a priority is claimed. In case of the Arab countries, this time limit is applicable in all Arab member except for Morocco and Algeria, as the local paten laws thereof extend said time limit up to 31 months.
Table I: showing a list of the Arab countries members in PCT system, and the time limits for filing a national phase therein.
Arab Countries
PCT Member Time limits for filing a national phase
Algeria Yes 31 months
Bahrain Yes 30 months
Comoros Yes 30 months
Djibouti Yes 30 months
Egypt Yes 30 months
Iraq Yes 30 months
Jordan Yes 30 months
Kuwait Yes 30 months
Lebanon No --
Libya Yes 30 months
Mauritania No --
Morocco Yes 31 months
Oman Yes 30 months
Palestine No --
Qatar Yes 30 months
Saudi Arabia Yes 30 months
Somalia No --
Sudan Yes 30 months
South Sudan No --
Syria Yes 30 months
Tunisia Yes 30 months
The United Arab Emirates Yes 30 months
Yemen No --
Written by: Dina Raafat, the Head of Patent Examination team.