Patent Co-operation Treaty

Patent Co-operation Treaty (P.C.T.) in E.U. Patent System

The P.C.T. was signed in Washington D.C. on June 19 1970 and entered into force January 24 1978. It was amended with effective dates of May 3 1984 and January 1 1985. There are currently 96 signatories to this treaty. Contracting states may file an international application designating member states. If an applicant wants to press for grant in any of their designated states the patent application is moved to the national phase(s) but may carry the P.C.T. priority filing date.