16 May 2013Patents

Saudi Arabia signs up to PCT

Saudi Arabia deposited its instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on May 3, to become the 147th contracting state.

The country will be officially bound by the PCT on August 3, after which Saudi nationals and residents may file international patent applications. Any international applications made on or after this date will automatically include the designation of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is one of the last major industrialised nations to join the PCT.

Hayat Sindi of the Shoura Council, Saudi Arabia’s advisory body to the King, wrote in  Arab News on Monday that the Middle East has “huge potential,” like Brazil, to become a major knowledge-based player in the global economy by developing a stronger IP system.

Matthew Bryan, director of the PCT’s legal division at the World Intellectual Property Organisation, said that joining the PCT is a “natural step” in that process.

“Those who are innovating and inventing can make the best use of their resources while investigating the potential for protecting their innovations in foreign countries,” he said.

He said the PCT has become “best practice” for companies and individuals exploring the possibility to protect their inventions in more than one country.

“Individuals and companies who are residents and nationals of Saudi Arabia will be able to use the PCT system when they’re seeking international patent protection,” he said, adding that applicants from other PCT member states seeking patent protection in Saudi Arabia will find the process much easier.

The PCT’s uniform time limits provide ample time for international patent applicants to carry out account searches and examination reports, helping companies and individuals make best use of their money and their time, he said.

Applicants may also delay examination procedures at national patent offices and the payment of legal fees and translation costs, which is not offered by the Paris Convention.

The Paris Convention dictates all international filing decisions must be made in the 12 month period from the initial filing, whereas the PCT allows 30 months.

In 2011 (most recent data), a total of 1,067 patents were filed in Saudi Arabia, a number that has been climbing rapidly since 2007. The largest proportion of patents filed relating to chemical engineering, organic fine chemistry and macromolecular chemistry inventions.

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