A patent represents an exclusive grant of rights over an invention, allowing its creator to produce, use, and sell the invention for a restricted period of 20 years. Patents are conferred for novel, non-obvious product or process innovations with industrial applicability, not excluded from patentability.

In Pakistan, patent law is regulated by two main legislations:

The Patents Ordinance 2000
The Patents Rules 2003

The procedural journey involves several steps:

Receipt of the patent filing request
Completion of formalities, including correspondence with the client and the Patent Office
Examination by the Patent Office (duration varies)
Acceptance by the Controller of Patents
Publication in the IP Journal and/or website
Sealing in the absence of opposition
Renewal procedures

Three types of patent applications are filed in Pakistan:

Ordinary Application: Filed when all necessary criteria for patent application are met. The official date of this patent is its filing date in the Patent Office.
Application for Patent of Addition: Pertains to improvements or modifications of an existing invention for which a patent has been applied or granted.
Convention Patent Application: Represents a priority patent application where the filing date corresponds to the official date of the initial patent application made in a WTO member country.

Requirements for application include:

Full name, nationality, and complete business address of the applicant(s)
Two copies of specification and claims in English, on International A-4 size pages
Two copies of drawing(s), if applicable, on International A-4 size sheets
Application form signed by the applicant(s) and endorsed by the inventor(s) in the presence of two witnesses, or an alternate Assignment document if inventor(s) are not the applicant(s) in Pakistan
Power of Authority signed by applicant(s) and notarized by a notary public
In cases of priority application, a certified copy of the basic specification is filed with the application in Pakistan or within three months of filing the application. Priority can be claimed for corresponding applications filed in WTO member countries within 12 months from the date of the first foreign application. If the priority document is in a language other than English, an English translation verified by a Notary Public is required.

Our comprehensive patent services include:

Patent searches
Application filing
Legal actions
Representation in hearings
Application acceptance and sealing
Filing oppositions
Annuities management
Post-grant matters
Appeals in superior courts
Patent validity checks

At IP Law International, we are dedicated to safeguarding your intellectual property rights through meticulous patent protection and management strategies.