The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) is a treaty signed on 1 June 2000 in Geneva, Switzerland, by 53 States and the European Patent Organisation (an intergovernmental organization). It entered into force on April 28, 2005. It aims at harmonizing and streamlining 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. The treaty "does not establish a uniform procedure for all parties to the PLT but leaves parties free to require fewer or more user-friendly requirements than those provided in the PLT."[1] As of February 2023, the PLT had 43 contracting states.[2]
History
Contracting States to the Patent Law Treaty and dates of entry into force[2]
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.[3][4] In March 2009, a report from French Senator Rachel Mazuir recommended the ratification of the PLT, as soon as possible, by France.[5][6] On 24 July 2009, the government was authorized to ratify the PLT.[7] The PLT then entered into force for France on 5 January 2010.[2]
Article 20(7)(3) 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".[8]
Mulder, Cees (November 2014). "Patent Law Treaty: Promises Not Delivered-How the Negotiations Resulted in Ambiguities in the Treaty: Patent Law Treaty". The Journal of World Intellectual Property. 17 (5–6): 160–190. doi:10.1002/jwip.12028.