Pakistan Patent Filing for Foreign Applicants

• PCT national phase: none. Pakistan is not a PCT Contracting State (WIPO's PCT Contracting States list; WIPO's "Paris but not PCT" list).
• Priority period: 12 months from the first application in a Convention country (Patents Ordinance s.2(c); Paris Convention Art. 4C).
• Convention country: any WTO member, or a country declared under s.86 (s.2(d)).
• Specification at filing: a complete specification is required for a Convention application (s.14(1)).
• Forms: P-2 (inventor applies) or P-2A (inventor not a party), with P-3A (Patents Rules 2003 r.8(2); IPO-Pakistan guidelines).
• Language: English, or a verified English translation (r.5(1); s.88(2)).
• Priority document: a certified copy, with the application or within 3 months (s.88(1); r.8(8)).
• Address for service: required in Pakistan (r.7(1)).
• Agent: must reside or have a place of business in Pakistan (s.84(2)).
• Official filing fee: PKR 6,750, plus PKR 90 per page beyond 40 and PKR 225 per claim beyond 20 (IPO-Pakistan Patent Fee & Forms).
• First examination report: IPO-Pakistan's published average is 18 months.
• Opposition period: 4 months from advertisement of acceptance (s.23(1)).
• Term: 20 years (s.31).

There is one route into Pakistan: a national application. WIPO's list of PCT Contracting States does not include Pakistan, and WIPO separately lists Pakistan as bound by the Paris Convention but not the PCT. A PCT application therefore has no effect in Pakistan.

Section 2(c) of the Patents Ordinance 2000 defines a Convention application as one "made in Pakistan within twelve months after the date of an application made in a Convention country, whether claiming single or multiple priorities". Section 2(d) defines a Convention country as a WTO member or a country declared under section 86. Section 13(2) allows a single Convention application for cognate inventions filed in one or more Convention countries, within twelve months of the earliest filing.

If the twelve months has passed, you can still file an ordinary application, but without priority. Under section 8(2)(a), anything disclosed to the public anywhere in the world before the Pakistani filing date forms part of the state of the art. That includes publication of your own foreign application. PCT national phase in Pakistan

Under section 11(1), an application may be made by the true and first inventor or inventors, by their assignee or successor-in-interest, or by the legal representative of a deceased inventor. A foreign company filing as assignee uses Form P-2A.

Rule 8(2) requires the company to produce the original deed of assignment, or other document from the inventor under which it is entitled to apply, or Form P-2A endorsed by the inventor in front of two witnesses. The inventor is entitled to be named in the application (s.13(1)).

Address for service: rule 7(1) of the Patents Rules 2003 requires every applicant and opponent, and every later patentee, to "give an address for service in Pakistan". Unless one is given, the Controller "shall be under no obligation either to proceed with the application or the opposition, or to send any notice". Forms P-2 and P-2A each have a box for it.

Agent: section 84(2) of the Ordinance requires the Controller to refuse to recognise as agent "any person who neither resides nor has a place of business in Pakistan". A foreign patent attorney without a place of business in Pakistan cannot be recognised as agent before the Patent Office.

The Ordinance defines a "patent agent" as an advocate or a person registered as a patent agent (s.2(l)). Only citizens of Pakistan may be registered (s.80). The appointment is made on Form P-28, which must be stamped under the Stamp Act (Patents Rules 2003, r.7(2) and r.55; Form P-28).

Signing: section 81(2) requires the application itself to be signed and verified by the applicant. If the applicant "is absent from Pakistan", an authorised patent agent may sign and verify it instead (proviso to s.81(2)).

Oppositions by foreign parties: a party who opposes and "neither resides nor carries on business in Pakistan" may be required to give security for costs (s.97).

The IPO-Pakistan filing guidelines and checklist, read with the Ordinance and Rules, call for:

1. Form P-2 or P-2A, two copies (r.8(2); guidelines).
2. Form P-3A and the complete specification, two copies. The specification includes the description, claims, abstract and any drawings (s.14(1); s.15(3), (6); guidelines). It must be in English on A4 paper, with the margins set out in rule 5.
3. A certified copy of the priority application, certified by the head of the foreign patent office or otherwise verified to the Controller's satisfaction. File it with the application or within three months; the Controller may allow more time on good cause (s.88(1)). Rule 8(8) provides for extension requests on Form P-4, with an official fee of PKR 1,125 per month.
4. An English translation of any priority document not in English, verified by affidavit or otherwise (s.88(2)).
5. Form P-28, stamped, original and a copy (guidelines checklist).
6. The assignment or inventor endorsement where the company applies on Form P-2A (r.8(2)).
7. The official filing fee. IPO-Pakistan's filing guidelines refer to a pay order or demand draft in favour of the Director General, IPO-Pakistan; confirm the accepted payment method with your Pakistan counsel.

Affidavits sworn abroad: rule 57(3)(b) of the Patents Rules 2003 requires affidavits made outside Pakistan to be "legalized by the Embassy of Pakistan". Pakistan has been party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 9 March 2023 (HCCH status table). Whether the Patent Office accepts an apostille in place of embassy legalisation should be confirmed with your Pakistan counsel before the affidavit is sworn.

How the complete specification and claims are prepared is covered in a separate guide. Complete patent specifications in Pakistan

Section 26 of the Ordinance restricts filing abroad by persons resident in Pakistan. Section 26(2) disapplies it where the invention was first filed outside Pakistan by a person resident outside Pakistan, which covers most foreign companies.

If any inventor is resident in Pakistan, check the position before the first filing anywhere. IPO-Pakistan's SOP states that permission "cannot be obtained retrospectively". Foreign filing permission for patents in Pakistan

• Foreign search and examination results: when the Controller asks, the applicant must provide the number and date of corresponding foreign applications, copies of foreign search or examination communications, any foreign patent granted, and any final rejection or invalidation (s.20). Failure is an offence under section 76, with a fine of up to PKR 5,000.
• Examination: IPO-Pakistan's published average is eighteen months to the first examination report and three months to review a reply. These are service standards. The statutory eighteen-month limit once in section 16(2) was omitted by Act IX of 2010.
• Opposition: after acceptance is advertised, anyone may oppose within four months (s.23(1)).
• Sealing: the request for sealing, on Form P-10, must be made within six months of publication of the complete specification (s.27(2)). The Controller may extend this by six months (s.27(3)).
• Term and renewal: the term is twenty years (s.31). Renewal fees on Form P-12 start with the fifth year (First Schedule, as substituted 2019). The time to pay can be extended by up to six months with an additional fee (s.32(2)). For a Convention application, section 29(1) dates the patent as of the earliest convention filing, and rule 34 reckons renewal fees and expiry from that date. Confirm with your Pakistan counsel how the term and renewal years are computed for a particular patent.
• Working statements: section 93(2) requires patentees and licensees to file statements on the commercial working of the patent in Pakistan, at prescribed intervals of not less than six months. Confirm with your Pakistan counsel what is currently prescribed.

The official fees for each of these steps are listed in the fee guide. Patent fees and timelines in Pakistan

Raza & Associates was established in 2005 and is listed in Tier 3 of The Legal 500 ranking for Pakistan intellectual property. It works from its head office in Lahore and its offices in London and Singapore.

The firm's patent services cover preparation and filing of patent applications, provisional and complete specifications, correspondence with the relevant patent authorities, patent renewals, portfolio management and enforcement support. It assists foreign companies and overseas law firms that need Pakistan-based patent counsel. Pakistan IP local counsel

US applicants can read how a Pakistan filing fits a US programme. Filing IP in Pakistan from the United States

For Pakistan patent filing assistance, review our patent practice. Patent Law services in Pakistan

This guide summarises the Patents Ordinance 2000 (Pakistan Code consolidation), the Patents Rules 2003, the First Schedule fees, IPO-Pakistan's published pages, WIPO's PCT pages and the HCCH status table as read on 5 October 2026. It is not legal advice on any particular filing.