Patent Law Treaty


The Patent Law Treaty is a patent law multilateral treaty concluded on 1 June 2000 in Geneva, Switzerland, by 53 States and the European Patent Organisation. It aims at harmonizing formal procedures such as the requirements to obtain a filing date for a patent application, the form and content of a patent application, and representation.
As of August 2019, the PLT had 42 contracting states, while 59 states and the European Patent Organisation have signed the treaty.

History

France

Prior to the entry into force of the treaty in France, a bill was submitted on 14 January 2009 at the French Senate proposing the ratification of the PLT by France. In March 2009, a report from French Senator Rachel Mazuir recommended the ratification of the PLT, as soon as possible, by France. On 24 July 2009, the government was authorized to ratify the PLT. The PLT then entered into force for France on 5 January 2010.

United States of America

The Treaty was ratified by the United States on 18 September 2013. Parts of the PLT were applied to U.S. patent law with the passage of the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012.

Mexico

Article 20 of the proposed new NAFTA, in December 2019, stated that "Each Party shall give due consideration to ratifying or acceding to the PLT, or, in the alternative, shall adopt or maintain procedural standards consistent with the objective of the PLT".