Iraq Accedes to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

 The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ambassador Abdul Karim Hashim Mustafa, deposited the instrument of Iraq’s accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Permanent Representative said during his speech that accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty will make the patent system in Iraq more efficient and the procedures will be less costly for applicants seeking international patent protection, pointing out its great importance to motivate Iraqi inventors to contribute more to the industrial and technological progress and protection of their intellectual property.

He added that the Central Agency for Standardization and Quality Control in the Ministry of Planning granted 532 patent certificates during the year 2021 only, and more than 2,200 patent certificates since 2017.

It is noteworthy that the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) will enter into force three months after the deposit of the instrument of accession. Thus, the number of member states in the treaty is 155. This treaty is the fourth treaty in which Iraq is a party out of (26) treaties in the World Intellectual Property Organization.