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WIPO-Administered Treaties

Summary of the Berne Convention for

the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Works (1886)
The Berne Convention deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors.
It is based on three basic principles and contains a series of provisions determining
the minimum protection to be granted, as well as special provisions available
to developing countries that want to make use of them.
(1) The three basic principles are the following:
(a) Works originating in one of the Contracting States (that is, works the author of which
is a national of such a State or works first published in such a State) must be given the
same protection in each of the other Contracting States as the latter grants to the works
of its own nationals (principle of "national treatment") [1].
(b) Protection must not be conditional upon compliance with any formality (principle of
"automatic" protection) [2].
(c) Protection is independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin of the
work (principle of "independence" of protection). If, however, a Contracting State
provides for a longer term of protection than the minimum prescribed by the
Convention and the work ceases to be protected in the country of origin, protection may
be denied once protection in the country of origin ceases [3].

(2) The minimum standards of protection relate to the works and rights to be
protected, and to the duration of protection:
(a) As to works, protection must include "every production in the literary, scientific and
artistic domain, whatever the mode or form of its expression" (Article 2(1) of the
Convention).
(b) Subject to certain allowed reservations, limitations or exceptions, the following are
among therights that must be recognized as exclusive rights of authorization:

the right to translate,

the right to make adaptations and arrangements of the

work,

the right to perform in public dramatic, dramatico-musical and

musical works,

the right to recite literary works in public,

the right to communicate to the public the performance of

such works,

the right to broadcast (with the possibility that a Contracting

State may provide for a mere right to equitable remuneration instead of a right
of authorization),

the right to make reproductions in any manner or form (with

the possibility that a Contracting State may permit, in certain special cases,
reproduction without authorization, provided that the reproduction does not
conflict with the normal exploitation of the work and does not unreasonably
prejudice the legitimate interests of the author; and the possibility that a
Contracting State may provide, in the case of sound recordings of musical
works, for a right to equitable remuneration),

the right to use the work as a basis for an audiovisual

work, and the right to reproduce, distribute, perform in public or
communicate to the public that audiovisual work [4].
The Convention also provides for "moral rights", that is, the right to claim authorship
of the work and the right to object to any mutilation, deformation or other modification
of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the work that would be prejudicial to the
author's honor or reputation.
(c) As to the duration of protection, the general rule is that protection must be granted
until the expiration of the 50th year after the author's death. There are, however,
exceptions to this general rule. In the case of anonymous or pseudonymous works, the
term of protection expires 50 years after the work has been lawfully made available to
the public, except if the pseudonym leaves no doubt as to the author's identity or if the
author discloses his or her identity during that period; in the latter case, the general rule
applies. In the case of audiovisual (cinematographic) works, the minimum term of
protection is 50 years after the making available of the work to the public ("release") or

 failing such an event from the creation of the work. In the case of works of applied
art and photographic works, the minimum term is 25 years from the creation of the
work [5].
(3) The Berne Convention allows certain limitations and exceptions on economic rights,
that is, cases in which protected works may be used without the authorization of the
owner of the copyright, and without payment of compensation. These limitations are
commonly referred to as "free uses" of protected works, and are set forth in Articles 9(2)
(reproduction in certain special cases), 10 (quotations and use of works by way of
illustration for teaching purposes), 10bis (reproduction of newspaper or similar articles
and use of works for the purpose of reporting current events) and 11bis(3) (ephemeral
recordings for broadcasting purposes).
(4) The Appendix to the Paris Act of the Convention also permits developing countries
to implement non-voluntary licenses for translation and reproduction of works in
certain cases, in connection with educational activities. In these cases, the described use
is allowed without the authorization of the right holder, subject to the payment of
remuneration to be fixed by the law.
The Berne Union has an Assembly and an Executive Committee. Every country that is a
member of the Union and has adhered to at least the administrative and final provisions
of the Stockholm Act is a member of the Assembly. The members of the Executive
Committee are elected from among the members of the Union, except for Switzerland,
which is a member ex officio.
The establishment of the biennial program and budget of the WIPO Secretariat as far
as the Berne Union is concerned is the task of its Assembly.
The Berne Convention, concluded in 1886, was revised at Paris in 1896 and at Berlin in
1908, completed at Berne in 1914, revised at Rome in 1928, at Brussels in 1948, at
Stockholm in 1967 and at Paris in 1971, and was amended in 1979.
The Convention is open to all States. Instruments of ratification or accession must be
deposited with the Director General of WIPO [6].

[1] Under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

(TRIPS Agreement), the principles of national treatment, automatic protection and
independence of protection also bind those World Trade Organization (WTO) Members
not party to the Berne Convention. In addition, the TRIPS Agreement imposes an

obligation of "most-favored-nation treatment", under which advantages accorded by a

WTO Member to the nationals of any other country must also be accorded to the
nationals of all WTO Members. It is to be noted that the possibility of delayed
application of the TRIPS Agreement does not apply to national treatment and mostfavored obligations.
[2] Idem.
[3] Idem.
[4] Under the TRIPS Agreement, an exclusive right of rental must be recognized in
respect of computer programs and, under certain conditions, audiovisual works.
[5] Under the TRIPS Agreement, any term of protection that is calculated on a basis
other than the life of a natural person must be at least 50 years from the first authorized
publication of the work, or failing such an event 50 years from the making of the
work. However, this rule does not apply to photographic works, or to works of applied
art.
[6] It is to be noted that WTO Members, even those not party to the Berne Convention,
must comply with the substantive law provisions of the Berne Convention, except that
WTO Members not party to the Convention are not bound by the moral rights
provisions of the Convention.
Summary of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)

The Paris Convention applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including
patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models (a kind of "small-scale patent"
provided for by the laws of some countries), service marks, trade names (designations
under which an industrial or commercial activity is carried out), geographical
indications (indications of source and appellations of origin) and the repression of
unfair competition.
The substantive provisions of the Convention fall into three main categories: national
treatment, right of priority, common rules.
(1) Under the provisions on national treatment, the Convention provides that, as
regards the protection of industrial property, each Contracting State must grant

the same protection to nationals of other Contracting States that it grants to its own
nationals. Nationals of non-Contracting States are also entitled to national treatment
under the Convention if they are domiciled or have a real and effective industrial or
commercial establishment in a Contracting State.
(2) The Convention provides for the right of priority in the case of patents (and utility
models where they exist), marks and industrial designs. This right means that, on the
basis of a regular first application filed in one of the Contracting States, the applicant
may, within a certain period of time (12 months for patents and utility models; 6 months
for industrial designs and marks), apply for protection in any of the otherContracting
States. These subsequent applications will be regarded as if they had been filed on the
same day as the first application. In other words, they will have priority (hence the
expression "right of priority") over applications filed by others during the said period of
time for the same invention, utility model, mark or industrial design. Moreover, these
subsequent applications, being based on the first application, will not be affected by any
event that takes place in the interval, such as the publication of an invention or the sale
of articles bearing a mark or incorporating an industrial design. One of the great
practical advantages of this provision is that applicants seeking protection in several
countries are not required to present all of their applications at the same time but have 6
or 12 months to decide in which countries they wish to seek protection, and to organize
with due care the steps necessary for securing protection.
(3) The Convention lays down a few common rules that all Contracting States must
follow. The most important are:
(a) Patents. Patents granted in different Contracting States for the same invention
are independent of each other: the granting of a patent in one Contracting State
does not oblige other Contracting States to grant a patent; a patent cannot be refused,
annulled or terminated in any Contracting State on the ground that it has been refused
or annulled or has terminated in any other Contracting State.
The inventor has the right to be named as such in the patent.
The grant of a patent may not be refused, and a patent may not be invalidated, on the
ground that the sale of the patented product, or of a product obtained by means of the
patented process, is subject to restrictions or limitations resulting from the domestic
law.

Each Contracting State that takes legislative measures providing for the grant of
compulsory licenses to prevent the abuses which might result from the exclusive rights
conferred by a patent may do so only undercertain conditions. A compulsory license
(a license not granted by the owner of the patent but by a public authority of the State
concerned), based on failure to work or insufficient working of the patented invention,
may only be granted pursuant to a request filed after three years from the grant of the
patent or four years from the filing date of the patent application, and it must be refused
if the patentee gives legitimate reasons to justify this inaction. Furthermore, forfeiture of
a patent may not be provided for, except in cases where the grant of a compulsory
license would not have been sufficient to prevent the abuse. In the latter case,
proceedings for forfeiture of a patent may be instituted, but only after the expiration of
two years from the grant of the first compulsory license.
(b) Marks. The Paris Convention does not regulate the conditions for the filing and
registration of marks which are determined in each Contracting State by domestic
law. Consequently, no application for the registration of a mark filed by a national of a
Contracting State may be refused, nor may a registration be invalidated, on the ground
that filing, registration or renewal has not been effected in the country of origin.
The registration of a mark obtained in one Contracting State is independent of its
possible registration in any other country, including the country of origin; consequently,
the lapse or annulment of the registration of a mark in one Contracting State will not
affect the validity of the registration in other Contracting States.
Where a mark has been duly registered in the country of origin, it must, on
request, be accepted for filing and protected in its original form in the other Contracting
States. Nevertheless, registration may be refused in well-defined cases, such as where
the mark would infringe the acquired rights of third parties; where it is devoid of
distinctive character; where it is contrary to morality or public order; or where it is of
such a nature as to be liable to deceive the public.
If, in any Contracting State, the use of a registered mark is compulsory, the registration
cannot be canceled for non-use until after a reasonable period, and then only if the
owner cannot justify this inaction.
Each Contracting State must refuse registration and prohibit the use of marks that
constitute a reproduction, imitation or translation, liable to create confusion, of a mark
used for identical and similar goods and considered by the competent authority of that
State to be well known in that State and to already belong to a person entitled to the
benefits of the Convention.

Each Contracting State must likewise refuse registration and prohibit the use of marks
that consist of or contain, without authorization, armorial bearings, State
emblems and official signs and hallmarks of Contracting States, provided they have
been communicated through the International Bureau of WIPO. The same provisions
apply to armorial bearings, flags, other emblems, abbreviations and names of certain
intergovernmental organizations.
Collective marks must be granted protection.
(c) Industrial Designs. Industrial designs must be protected in each Contracting
State, and protection may not be forfeited on the ground that articles incorporating the
design are not manufactured in that State.
(d) Trade Names. Protection must be granted to trade names in each Contracting
State without there being an obligation to file or register the names.
(e) Indications of Source. Measures must be taken by each Contracting State against
direct or indirect use of a false indication of the source of goods or the identity of their
producer, manufacturer or trader.
(f) Unfair competition. Each Contracting State must provide for effective protection
against unfair competition.
The Paris Union, established by the Convention, has an Assembly and an Executive
Committee. Every State that is a member of the Union and has adhered to at least the
administrative and final provisions of the Stockholm Act (1967) is a member of the
Assembly. The members of the Executive Committee are elected from among the
members of the Union, except for Switzerland, which is a member ex officio. The
establishment of the biennial program and budget of the WIPO Secretariat as far as
the Paris Union is concerned is the task of its Assembly.
The Paris Convention, concluded in 1883, was revised at Brussels in 1900, at
Washington in 1911, at The Hague in 1925, at London in 1934, at Lisbon in 1958 and at
Stockholm in 1967, and was amended in 1979.
The Convention is open to all States. Instruments of ratification or accession must be
deposited with the Director General of WIPO.

Summary of the Rome Convention for

the Protection of Performers, Producers
of Phonograms and Broadcasting
Organisations (1961)
The Rome Convention secures protection in performances for performers, in
phonograms for producers of phonograms and in broadcasts for broadcasting
organizations.
(1) Performers (actors, singers, musicians, dancers and those who perform literary or
artistic works) are protected against certain acts to which they have not consented, such
as the broadcasting and communication to the public of a live performance; the fixation
of the live performance; the reproduction of the fixation if the original fixation was made
without the performer's consent or if the reproduction was made for purposes different
from those for which consent was given.
(2) Producers of phonograms have the right to authorize or prohibit the direct or
indirect reproduction of their phonograms. In the Rome Convention, phonograms
means any exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or of other sounds.
Where a phonogram published for commercial purposes gives rise to secondary uses
(such as broadcasting or communication to the public in any form), a single equitable
remuneration must be paid by the user to the performers, to the producers of the
phonograms, or to both. Contracting States are free, however, not to apply this rule or to
limit its application.
(3) Broadcasting organizations have the right to authorize or prohibit certain acts,
namely the rebroadcasting of their broadcasts; the fixation of their broadcasts; the
reproduction of such fixations; the communication to the public of their television
broadcasts if such communication is made in places accessible to the public against
payment of an entrance fee.
The Rome Convention allows for limitations and exceptions to the abovementioned rights in national laws as regards private use, use of short excerpts in
connection with reporting current events, ephemeral fixation by a broadcasting
organization by means of its own facilities and for its own broadcasts, use solely for the
purpose of teaching or scientific research and in any other cases where national law
provides exceptions to copyright in literary and artistic works. Furthermore, once a

performer has consented to the incorporation of a performance in a visual or

audiovisual fixation, the provisions on performers' rights have no further application.
As to duration, protection must last at least until the end of a 20-year period computed
from the end of the year in which (a) the fixation was made, for phonograms and for
performances incorporated therein; (b) the performance took place, for performances
not incorporated in phonograms; (c) the broadcast took place. However, national laws
increasingly provide for a 50-year term of protection, at least for phonograms and
performances.
WIPO is responsible, jointly with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), for the
administration of the Rome Convention. These three organizations constitute the
Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Committee set up under the Convention consisting
of the representatives of 12 Contracting States.
The Convention does not provide for the institution of a Union or budget. It establishes
an Intergovernmental Committee composed of Contracting States that considers
questions concerning the Convention [1].
This Convention is open to States party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works (1886) or to the Universal Copyright Convention.
Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations. States may make reservations with regard to the application of
certain provisions.

[1] The TRIPS Agreement also contains provisions on the protection of related rights.
These provisions are different, in several respects, from those contained in the Rome
Convention and in the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of
Phonograms Against Unauthorized Duplication of Their Phonograms (1971).
Summary of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO
Convention) (1967)

The WIPO Convention, the constituent instrument of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, entered into force in
1970 and was amended in 1979. WIPO is an intergovernmental organization that

became in 1974 one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations system of
organizations.
The origins of WIPO go back to 1883 and 1886 when the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works, respectively, were concluded. Both Conventions provided
for the establishment of an "International Bureau". The two bureaus were united in
1893 and, in 1970, were replaced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, by
virtue of the WIPO Convention.
WIPO's two main objectives are (i) to promote the protection of intellectual property
worldwide; and (ii) to ensure administrative cooperation among the intellectual
property Unions established by the treaties that WIPO administers.
In order to attain these objectives, WIPO, in addition to performing the administrative
tasks of the Unions, undertakes a number of activities, including: (i) normative
activities, involving the setting of norms and standards for the protection and
enforcement of intellectual property rights through the conclusion of international
treaties; (ii) program activities, involving legal and technical assistance to States in the
field of intellectual property; (iii) international classification and standardization
activities, involving cooperation among industrial property offices concerning patent,
trademark and industrial design documentation; and(iv) registration and filing
activities, involving services related to international applications for patents for
inventions and for the registration of marks and industrial designs.
Membership in WIPO is open to any State that is a member of any of the Unions and to
any other State satisfying one of the following conditions: (i) it is a member of the
United Nations, any of the specialized agencies brought into relationship with the
United Nations, or the International Atomic Energy Agency;(ii) it is a party to the
Statute of the International Court of Justice; or (iii) it has been invited by the General
Assembly of WIPO to become a party to the Convention. There are no obligations
arising from membership of WIPO concerning other treaties administered by WIPO.
Accession to WIPO is effected by means of the deposit with the Director General of
WIPO of an instrument of accession to the WIPO Convention.
The WIPO Convention establishes three main organs: the WIPO General Assembly, the
WIPO Conference and the WIPO Coordination Committee. The WIPO General
Assembly is composed of the Member States of WIPO which are also members of any of
the Unions. Its main functions are, inter alia, the appointment of the Director General

upon nomination by the Coordination Committee, review and approval of the reports of
the Director General and the reports and activities of the Coordination Committee,
adoption of the biennial budget common to the Unions, and adoption of the financial
regulations of the Organization.
The WIPO Conference is composed of the States party to the WIPO Convention. It
is, inter alia, the competent body for adopting amendments to the Convention. The
WIPO Coordination Committee is composed of members elected from among the
members of the Executive Committee of the Paris Union and the Executive Committee
of the Berne Union. Its main functions are to give advice to the organs of the Unions, the
General Assembly, the Conference, and to the Director General, on all administrative
and financial matters of interest to these bodies. It also prepares the draft agenda of the
General Assembly and the draft agenda of the Conference. Where appropriate, the
Coordination Committee nominates a candidate for the post of Director General for
appointment by the General Assembly.
The principal sources of income of WIPO's regular budget are the fees paid by the users
of the international registration and filing services, and the contributions paid by the
governments of Member States. Each State belongs to one of 14 classes, which
determines the amount of its contribution. Class I, with the highest contribution,
involves the payment of 25 contribution units, whereas Class Ster, with the lowest
contribution, involves the payment of 1/32 of one contribution unit. By virtue of the
unitary contribution system adopted by Member States in 1993, the amount of each
State's contribution is the same whether that State is a member only of WIPO, or only of
one or more Unions, or of both WIPO and one or more Unions.
The Secretariat of the Organization is called the International Bureau. The executive
head of the International Bureau is the Director General who is appointed by the WIPO
General Assembly and is assisted by two or more Deputy Directors General.
The headquarters of the Organization are in Geneva, Switzerland. The Organization has
Liaison Offices in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Japan (Tokyo), Singapore (Singapore) and the
United States of America (at the United Nations in New York).
The Organization benefits from the privileges and immunities granted to international
organizations and their officials in the fulfillment of its objectives and exercise of its
functions, and has concluded a headquarters agreement with the Swiss Confederation to
that effect.

Summary of the Patent Cooperation

Treaty (PCT) (1970)
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an
invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an
"international" patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a
national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the
national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or
resident or, at the applicant's option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.
If the applicant is a national or resident of a Contracting State party to the European
Patent Convention, the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (Harare
Protocol), the Bangui Agreement, or the Eurasian Patent Convention, the international
application may also be filed with the European Patent Office (EPO), the African
Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the African Intellectual Property
Organization (OAPI) or the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), respectively.
The Treaty regulates in detail the formal requirements with which international
applications must comply.
Filing a PCT application has the effect of automatically designating all Contracting
States bound by the PCT on the international filing date. The effect of the international
application is the same in each designated State as if a national patent application had
been filed with the national patent office of that State.
The international application is subjected to an international search. That search is
carried out by one of the competent International Searching Authorities (ISA) under the
PCT [1] and results in an international search report, that is, a listing of the citations of
published documents that might affect the patentability of the invention claimed in the
international application. In addition, a preliminary and non-binding written opinion
on whether the invention appears to meet patentability criteria in light of the search
report results is also issued.
The international search report and written opinion are communicated to the applicant
who, after evaluating their content, may decide to withdraw the application, in

particular where the content of the report and opinion suggests that the granting of
patents is unlikely, or the applicant may decide to amend the claims in the application.
If the international application is not withdrawn, it is published by the International
Bureau, together with the international search report. The written opinion is not
published at that time.
Before the expiration of 19 months from the priority date, the applicant has the option to
request a Supplementary International Searching Authority (SISA) (an ISA willing to
offer this service) to carry out an additional search of relevant documentation,
specifically focusing on documents in the particular language in which that authority
specializes. The goal of this additional search is to reduce the likelihood of further
documents coming to light in the national phase that would make granting the patent
unlikely.
An applicant that decides to continue with the international application with a view to
obtaining national (or regional) patents can, in relation to most Contracting States, wait
until the end of the thirtieth month from the priority date to commence the national
procedure before each designated office by furnishing a translation (where necessary) of
the application into the official language of that office, paying to it the necessary fees
and acquiring the services of local patent agents.
If the applicant wishes to make amendments to the application for example, in order
to address documents identified in the search report and conclusions made in the
written opinion and to have the potential patentability of the "as-amended"
application reviewed an optional international preliminary examination may be
requested. The result of the preliminary examination is an international preliminary
report on patentability (IPRP Chapter II) which is prepared by one of the competent
International Preliminary Examining Authorities (IPEA) under the PCT [2] and which
contains a preliminary and non-binding opinion on the patentability of the claimed
invention. It provides the applicant with an even stronger basis on which to evaluate the
chances of obtaining a patent and, if the report is favorable, a stronger basis on which to
continue with the application before national and regional patent offices. If no
international preliminary examination has been requested, the International Bureau
establishes an international preliminary report on patentability (IPRP Chapter I) on the
basis of the written opinion of the ISA and communicates this report to the designated
offices.

The procedure under the PCT has great advantages for applicants, patent offices and the
general public:
(i) applicants have up to 18 months more than if they had not used the PCT to reflect on
the desirability of seeking protection in foreign countries, appoint local patent agents in
each foreign country, prepare the necessary translations and pay national fees;
(ii) applicants can rest assured that, if their international application is in the form
prescribed by the PCT, it cannot be rejected on formal grounds by any designated office
during the national phase;
(iii) on the basis of the international search report and the written opinion, applicants
can evaluate with reasonable probability the chances of their invention being patented;
(iv) applicants have the possibility, during the optional international preliminary
examination, to amend the international application and thus put it in order before
processing by the various patent offices;
(v) the search and examination work of patent offices can be considerably reduced or
eliminated thanks to the international search report, the written opinion and, where
applicable, the international preliminary report on patentability which are
communicated to designated offices together with the international application;
(vi) since each international application is published with an international search report,
third parties are in a better position to formulate a well-founded opinion about the
potential patentability of the claimed invention; and
(vii) for applicants, international publication puts the world on notice of their
applications, which can be an effective means of advertising and looking for potential
licensees.
Ultimately, the PCT:

brings the world within reach;

postpones the major costs associated with international patent protection;

provides a strong basis for patenting decisions; and

is used by the world's major corporations, research institutions and universities

in seeking international patent protection.

The PCT created a Union which has an Assembly. Every State party to the PCT is a
member of the Assembly. Among the most important tasks of the Assembly are the
amendment of the Regulations issued under the Treaty, the adoption of the biennial
program and budget of the Union and the fixing of certain fees connected with the use of
the PCT system.
The Assembly of the PCT Union has established a special measure to benefit (1) natural
persons who are nationals of and reside in States with a per capita national income
below US$3,000, or who are nationals of and reside in one of the States listed in the
Schedule of Fees under the PCT Regulations, and (2) applicants, whether natural
persons or not, who are nationals of and reside in States classified as LDCs by the
United Nations. That benefit consists of a reduction of 90 per cent of certain fees under
the Treaty.
Details concerning the PCT can be obtained by consulting the PCT website, the PCT
Applicant's Guide, published by WIPO in English and French (Chinese, German and
Japanese editions, not published by WIPO, also exist) and the PCT Newsletter,
published by WIPO in English.
The PCT was concluded in 1970, amended in 1979 and modified in 1984 and in 2001.
It is open to States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property (1883). Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the
Director General of WIPO.

[1] The patent offices of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Israel, Japan,
the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, the United States of
America, the European Patent Office and the Nordic Patent Institute act as
International Searching Authorities under the PCT (status on January 1, 2013).
Agreements enabling the offices of Chile, Egypt and India to act as ISAs have been
signed; however, these offices have not yet commenced operations.
[2] The patent offices of Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Israel,
Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, the United States
of America, the European Patent Office and the Nordic Patent Institute act as
International Preliminary Examining Authorities under the PCT (status on January 1,

2013). Agreements enabling the offices of Chile, Egypt and India to act as IPEAs have
been signed; however, these offices have not yet commenced operations.