The Director General of WIPO has issued a memorandum on the Future of the PCT system. The aim is to establish a roadmap for making the PCT system as efficient and useful as possible.

The paper was discussed at the Meeting of International Authorities under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in March 2009. Some of the main results were as follows:

1. The ever growing backlog of patent applications was seen as the main problem to be solved. The PCT was the proper tool for this, in particular in combination with a wider use of work sharing. No fundamental changes to the PCT were considered necessary; the issue was more to use the system as originally intended.
    
2. Quality and timeliness of PCT reports was essential and should be improved. This was also a precondition for avoiding repetition of work by successive patent authorities.
    
3. The international phase should be used more efficiently to remedy as many deficiencies as possible before the application enters the national phase.
    
   More specifically, in PCT Chapter 1, examiners should seek dialogue with the applicant in order to eliminate any uncertainties before searching. Furthermore, applicants should be given the opportunity to comment on a written opinion before a final (negative) opinion was issued.
    
   Similarly, in the PCT Chapter 2 phase, dialogue was considered essential. More than one WO was found useful and top-up searches should be part of the Chapter 2 procedure.
    
4. PCT member states were also encouraged to lift a number of the reservations they made when joining the PCT.
    

The draft road map will be discussed again at the meeting of the PCT working Group in the beginning of May this year before it is put on the agenda of the General Assemblies in September.

 Link to WIPO's web site and documents concerning this meeting

 Link direct to Memorandum "The Future of the PCT" on WIPO's web site (PDF file)