PCT National Phase in Pakistan: Why There Is None, and What to File Instead

No. WIPO's list of PCT Contracting States (159 states when read on 5 October 2026) does not include Pakistan. A separate WIPO page lists Pakistan among the "States bound by the Paris Convention but not the PCT".

WIPO Lex shows Pakistan's treaty position. The Paris Convention has been in force for Pakistan since 22 July 2004, and the TRIPS Agreement since 1 January 1995. There is no PCT entry.

What this means in practice:

• There is no national phase in Pakistan. No PCT deadline applies to Pakistan, at 30 months or at any other point.
• A PCT filing does not hold your place in Pakistan. Only a Pakistani application filed inside the priority year does that.
• Docketing a "Pakistan national phase" is a mistake. By the time it falls due, the Pakistani priority deadline has passed.

The Patents Ordinance 2000 calls this a Convention application. Section 2(c) defines it as "an application made in Pakistan within twelve months after the date of an application made in a Convention country, whether claiming single or multiple priorities from such application".

Section 2(d) defines a Convention country as "a member country of the World Trade Organization or a country declared as such under section 86". The test in the Ordinance is WTO membership, not Paris Union membership. If the first filing was made in a country that is not a WTO member, confirm with your Pakistan counsel whether it qualifies under section 86.

The twelve months match Article 4C of the Paris Convention. The priority period for patents is twelve months. It runs from the filing date of the first application, and the day of filing is not counted.

Several Priorities in One Application

You can combine priorities. Section 13(2) allows a single Convention application for two or more cognate inventions, or inventions where one modifies another, that were filed in one or more Convention countries. It must be made within twelve months of the earliest of those filings.

A Complete Specification Is Required at Filing

A Convention application cannot start with a provisional specification. Section 14(1) requires every Convention application to "be accompanied by a complete specification". The provisional route in section 14(2) is open only to non-convention applications. Complete patent specifications in Pakistan

The Forms

Rule 8(2) of the Patents Rules 2003 prescribes Form P-2 where the true and first inventor is an applicant, and Form P-2A where the inventor is not a party, for example where a company files as assignee. Each form gives the Convention countries and filing dates relied on, and an address for service in Pakistan.

The Date Your Patent Bears

Section 29(1) dates a patent granted on a Convention application as of "the date of such earliest application filed in the Convention country from which priority has been claimed". Rule 34 of the Patents Rules 2003 records that date in the Register and provides that renewal fees and the expiry of the patent are reckoned from it. Section 31 sets the term at twenty years "from the filing date". Confirm with your Pakistan counsel how the term and renewal years are computed for a particular patent.

Counting the Twelve Months

Count from the earliest application whose priority you claim. Do not count from the PCT international filing date if the PCT application itself claims an earlier priority. If the first filing anywhere was itself a PCT international application, confirm with your Pakistan counsel how the Patent Office treats it as the basis for a Convention application.

The priority claim is lost. An ordinary application can still be filed in Pakistan, but novelty is then judged at the Pakistani filing date.

Under section 8(2)(a), the state of the art includes "everything disclosed to the public anywhere in the world" before the filing date, or the priority date where one applies. If the invention has already been published anywhere, including by publication of your own foreign or PCT application, it is not new to the extent of that disclosure.

The practical rule is to put the Pakistani deadline at month 12 in your docket, not at month 30, and to treat it as fixed.

The documents are set out in the Ordinance, the Rules and IPO-Pakistan's patent filing guidelines. In short:

1. Form P-2 or P-2A, in duplicate (Patents Rules 2003, r.8(2); IPO-Pakistan filing guidelines).
2. The complete specification with Form P-3A, including claims, an abstract and any drawings (s.14(1); s.15(3) and (6)). It must be in English (r.5(1)).
3. A copy of the priority application certified by the head of the foreign patent office. File it with the application or within three months, unless the Controller allows more time for good cause (s.88(1)). The request for more time is made on Form P-4 (r.8(8)).
4. An English translation of any priority document not in English, verified by affidavit or otherwise to the Controller's satisfaction (s.88(2)).
5. Form P-28 appointing a Pakistani agent, stamped under the Stamp Act (Form P-28; First Schedule to the Patents Rules 2003 as substituted in 2019).
6. Where a company files as assignee on Form P-2A, the original deed of assignment from the inventor, or Form P-2A endorsed by the inventor in front of two witnesses (r.8(2)).
7. The official filing fee. IPO-Pakistan lists PKR 6,750 for Form P-2 or P-2A, plus PKR 90 for each page beyond 40 and PKR 225 for each claim beyond 20 (IPO-Pakistan, Patent Fee & Forms; First Schedule as substituted with effect from 9 March 2019).

The foreign-applicant guide covers each document, the agent and the address for service in full. Pakistan patent filing for foreign applicants

The Ordinance no longer fixes a time for the first examination report. The eighteen-month limit originally in section 16(2) was omitted by Act IX of 2010. Some copies of the Ordinance still in circulation, including the one IPO-Pakistan hosts, predate that amendment.

What IPO-Pakistan publishes is a service standard. Its average process time table gives eighteen months to the first examination report and three months to review an applicant's reply. It gives two months from compliance to acceptance and publication, and six months from publication to "sealing is due" where no one opposes. After acceptance is advertised, anyone may oppose within four months (s.23(1)).

The official fees for each stage, including renewals, are listed in the fee guide. Patent fees and timelines in Pakistan

If any inventor or applicant is resident in Pakistan, check section 26 of the Ordinance before any filing outside Pakistan. It can require the Controller's written permission before the foreign filing, and IPO-Pakistan's procedure states that permission cannot be obtained retrospectively. Foreign filing permission for patents 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 assists foreign companies and overseas law firms that need Pakistan-based patent counsel. Its patent work covers preparation and filing of patent applications, correspondence with the patent authorities, renewals and portfolio management. Patent Law services in Pakistan

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

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