Patents of Invention

– Patent Law No. 32 of 1999, and its amendments, effective since December 1, 1999.
– Patent Law No. 71 of 2001, effective since November 9, 2001.
– Patent Regulation No. 97 of 2001, effective since December 13, 2001.
– Amended Patent Law No. 28 of 2007, effective since June 1, 2007 (to comply with the provisions of the PCT).
– Amended Patent Law No. 16 of 2017.
– Amended Implementing Regulation No. 5 of 2019.

Membership in International Conventions

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since July 12, 1972.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since July 17, 1972.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since April 11, 2000.
– Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, since November 14, 2008.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since June 9, 2017.

Filing

Applicant: the true and first inventor alone and/or the assignee whether individual, firm or corporation.

Protection for foreigners and nationals not living in the country: available.

Naming of inventors: inventors names, addresses and nationalities should be mentioned in the application.

Types of patents: methods, processes and products.

Filing: the application for the registration of a patent application is to be filed at the Registrar’s Office at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Novelty: is relative in Jordan.

Novelty grace period: application should be made within twelve months from publication, use or sale of the invention in any other country of the world.

Exceptions to protection: (1) (a) inventions, the exploitation of which would be contrary to public order or morality; (b) inventions, the prevention of its commercial exploitation, are necessary to protect life and health of humans, animals, or plants, or to avoid serious prejudice to the environment. The application of provisions (a) and (b) is conditional on the fact that the exclusion of protection is not made merely because the invention’s exploitation is prohibited to other legislation in force; (2) scientific discoveries or theories, and mathematical methods; (3) diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of both humans and animals; (4) animals and plant, other than microorganisms; (5) biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes; (6) inventions, whose applications for registration for the first time outside the Kingdom, have been published for more than twelve months preceding the date of filing in Jordan.

Priority: the registration applicant may claim for the right of priority of a national, regional or international application which was previously filed, within a period of twelve months, in any country party to a bilateral or multilateral agreement with Jordan.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. A legalized power of attorney; legalization should be made up to the Jordan Consulate;
2. Application Form No. 4, sworn and signed by the inventor(s) and the applicant and duly legalized as in point 1 above;
3. 1 copy of the specification of the patent, and the Arabic translation thereof;
4. Drawings, if any;
5. A certified copy of the priority document, together with its Arabic translation;
6. A certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of the applicant’s company;
7. An abstract containing: (a) a summary of the main points of the patent specification; (b) the name and structure of the new chemical compound for chemical inventions.

Note: all required documents must be submitted in both Arabic and in English. If the document is not in English, hence, an English translation thereof is needed. 

Electronic filing: available.

Electronic signatures: are accepted, provided that the original document is legalized as required.

Minimum requirements to obtain a filing date: application, specification, claims, abstracts and formal drawings.

Terms for filing the missing documents: all the missing required documents should be submitted within sixty days of filing the patent application with the possibility of extension.

PCT applications: time limit for entering national phase under both Chapter I and Chapter II: 30 months. Filing: the Kingdom of Jordan can be designated to file a PCT application at national phase only if the international PCT application filing date is on/or after June 9, 2017. The international application which designates or selects the Kingdom for registration and which is submitted to the Registrar will be subjected to the same provisions which relate to registering local patents. The filing date of said application is considered in accordance with Article 11 of the Treaty to be the date of submission to the Registrar notwithstanding what is described in paragraph (b) of Article 8 of this Law. Annuities: the annuity fees will be due after a patent has been granted. The first payment is paid accumulatively starting from the filing date to issuing of letters patent date, then the fees are paid yearly. A grace period of six months is granted. If annuity fees are not paid, the patent is considered void and patent restoration is not possible.

For a change of name:
1. A change of name certificate or a copy of any official document attesting the official change of name, duly certified and legalized up to the Jordan Consulate;
2. Power of attorney in the new name, legalized up to the Jordan Consulate.

For a change of address:
1. Power of attorney with the new address, legalized up to the Jordan Consulate.

Examination

Examination for applications filed prior to December 9, 2018: patents are granted after an examination of the invention as to form and substance. The Patent Office is requesting to support the Jordanian application with information about the granted related patents that are registered in other countries in order to base the acceptance of the patent filed in Jordan thereon.  Amendments: amendments for patent specifications are applicable provided that it is filed before the preliminary acceptance of the patent, and that the amendment does not change the essence of the invention that has been disclosed in the original application.  Division: in the course of the procedure, divisional patent applications may be filed bearing the original filing date and prior to the preliminary acceptance of the original patent application. Secrecy: viewing the details of the pending patent application has become permissible, but so far no regulations have been issued defining what is permitted to be viewed.  Prior use disputes: by opposition or cancellation.

Examination for applications filed after December 9, 2018: patents are granted after an examination of the invention as to form and substance. The official substantive fees will be USD 285. A grace period of sixty days will be given to settle these fees.  Amendments: amendments for patent specifications are applicable provided that it is filed before the preliminary acceptance of the patent, and that the amendment does not change the essence of the invention that has been disclosed in the original application.  Division: in the course of the procedure, divisional patent applications may be filed bearing the original filing date and prior to the preliminary acceptance of the original patent application.  Secrecy: viewing the details of the pending patent application has become permissible, but so far no regulations have been issued defining what is permitted to be viewed.  Prior use disputes: by opposition or cancellation.

Protection

Publication: the patent application will be published twice in the Official Gazette, the first one after eighteen months from the filing/priority date, while the second one is after preliminary acceptance. 

Beginning of protection: from the date of filing of the national application.

Delivery of document: the Letters Patent is issued in paper format.

Duration of protection: twenty years from the date of application.

Annuities: are payable annually from the filing date with a grace period of six months, subject to payment of a surcharge.

Amendments of issued patents: patents cannot be amended after the issuance of the Letters Patent.

Assignment: a patent title shall be transferable wholly or partially.

License: the proprietor of a patent shall have the right to enter a contract or license its exploitation.

Marking: no provision.

Modification of Protection after Registration

Rights of prior user: prior user has the right to oppose published patents and/or file a cancellation action against registered patents.

Rights of the proprietor of a patent: the proprietor has the right to prevent others from manufacturing the product or using the process, exploiting, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the product.

Opposition: a notice of opposition can be submitted to the Registrar within three months from the publication date of the concerned patent in the Official Gazette (before issuance of the Letters Patent). The Registrar’s decisions are subject to appeal to the Administrative Court. The decision of the Administrative Court is subject to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court.

Cancellation: any concerned party may resort to the Administrative Court for the purpose of issuing a decision to invalidate a patent. The decision of the Administrative Court is subject to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court.

Compulsory license of working: such licenses may be obtained on petition of interested parties proving to the satisfaction of the Minister that the reasonable requirements of the public with respect to a patented invention have not been satisfied. Alternatively, revocation of a patent based on non-use may be ordered, but not before the expiration of three years from the date of the grant of the patent or four years from the application date -the applied period is the period that lapses later- and provided that the patentee cannot give satisfactory reasons for his default.

Infringement and penalties: actions for infringement can only be brought after sealing; an infringer shall be punished by an imprisonment term of no less than three months and no more than one year, or a fine of no less than JOD100 and no more than JOD3,000 or by both of these penalties.

Enforcement: the proprietor of a patent registered in Jordan may when filing a civil or criminal case or during its review, request the court to stop the infringement, make precautionary seizure of products subject to infringement, and preserve the infringement evidence, provided that the proprietor submits with his application a bank or monetary guarantee accepted by the court.

Miscellaneous: patents are granted without any guarantee on the part of the government as to novelty or utility.