– Patents Ordinance, 2000 (Ordinance No. LXI of 2000), issued on December 2, 2000, as amended.
– Patents Rules, 2003, promulgated on January 1, 2005.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since January 6, 1977.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since July 22, 2004.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since March 9, 2023.

Applicant: an application for a patent may be made by any person or corporation whether Pakistani or not. The applicant must be the first and true inventor or assignee or successor-in-interest. A firm or company can only apply as assignee.

Foreigners and nationals not living in the country: they must appoint an agent.

Protection of foreigners: the granting of patents to foreigners also entitles them to the exclusive privilege of making, selling and using the inventions throughout Pakistan and authorizing others to do so.

Naming of inventor(s): if the true and first inventor is not a party to an application for a patent, the applicant must produce the original deed of assignment or other document from the true and first inventor, showing that he is entitled to apply for a patent.

Notion of the invention: patents are granted for any new inventions, involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application, representing new and useful products or processes in any field of technology, which does not mean abstract, comparative, competitive or commercial utility. The invention should be practical and easy to manufacture. The industrial application should be understood in the broadest sense, covering in particular, agriculture, handicraft, fishery and services.

Novelty: one of the features necessary for the validity of a patent is novelty. An invention shall be considered new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The novelty of an invention will be prejudiced if the invention is already being used in Pakistan. Similarly, prior public knowledge or publication will be a bar to the granting of a valid patent.

Exceptions to protection (unpatentable inventions): a discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method; a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other creation of purely aesthetic character whatsoever; a scheme, rule or method for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business; the presentation of information; substances that exist in nature or if isolated therefrom; inventions which do not relate to new methods of manufacture, are not the outcome of inventive ingenuity, have no utility or are contrary to the law or morality, are not patentable.

Inventions claiming protection for chemical products intended for use in medicine or agriculture, filed after January 1, 1995, in accordance with Article 70(8) and 70(9) of the TRIPS Agreement, shall be examined with effect from January 1, 2005. The filing date of these applications will be postponed to January 1, 2005.

Kinds of protection: there are four kinds of patents namely (1) ordinary patents; (2) patents claiming priority of date; (3) secret patents; and (4) patents of addition.

Secret patents: the inventor of any improvement in instruments of war or munitions may (either with or without compensation) assign to the government the benefits of the invention and of any patent obtained or to be obtained for the invention. In the case of such an assignment before publication of the specification, the government may request the Controller to keep the invention secret in the interests of the public.

Priorities: arrangements for giving priority to patents exist between Pakistan and several Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom.

International conventions: Pakistan has reciprocal arrangements with several Commonwealth countries including the United Kingdom.

Territory covered: a patent granted under the Act covers the whole of Pakistan.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (preferably attested by two witnesses);
2. Specification in English in duplicate (plus agent’s copy);
3. Drawings: 2 sets, one set on linen (plus agent’s copy);
4. Priority document if priority is to be claimed (i.e. certified copy of specification as originally filed); this document must be filed with the application but an extension of time of up to three months is obtainable on payment of an extra fee;
5. The full name, address, occupation and nationality of both the inventor and the applicant (if an assignee) should be given.

Electronic filing: not available.

Filing without full requirements: is possible, but in all cases an application form, specification and drawings must eventually be filed.

Filing without power of attorney: possible, provided that it is filed later within a reasonable period and that a suitable explanation is given for the delay.

Filing without any requirements (telegraphic order): possible, provided the agent is given the name of the applicant and sufficient particulars to draft an informal specification. The Controller, however, may call for an application for amendment, when the formal specification is filed.

Filing of priority documents: the priority documents should be filed with the application but an extension of time of one, two or three months is obtainable on payment of the prescribed fees.

Consular legalization: no legalization is required for patent and design applications or for any power of attorney.

Amendment of application: an application or specification (including drawings) may be amended by way of disclaimer, correction or explanation, if no action for infringement or no proceeding for the revocation of the patent is pending. Amendments, which would make the invention substantially larger or different, are not permitted.

Alterations: a patentee can have his name, address or addresses for service altered by notifying the Controller on the prescribed form.

Claims: the scope of the invention is circumscribed by the claims. Every complete specification must end with a clear succinct statement of the invention claimed, distinct from the body of the specification.

Prior use: public use prior to filing of an application is a bar to the granting of a valid patent.

Dispute about ownership: in the case of a dispute with an applicant who has agreed in writing that, if he is granted a patent, he will assign it to another party or to a joint applicant and then refuses to proceed with the application or if any dispute arises between joint applicants as regards proceeding with the application, the Controller, after hearing the parties concerned, may direct that such other party or joint applicant or applicants proceed with the application accordingly and may grant a patent to him or them as the case may be. An appeal against any such order must be made to the Central Government.

Dispute about novelty: any disputes about novelty are settled by the Controller and appeal against his decisions can be made to the Central Government.

Examination: on the filing of a complete specification, every application, other than that for a secret patent, is referred by the Controller to an Examiner of Patents. An application for a secret patent is examined by an Examiner especially authorized to do so by the Controller.

Publication: on the acceptance of complete specification, the Controller shall advertise that specification in the Official Gazette, thereafter the application, specification and priority documents (if any) are laid open to public inspection after acceptance by the Controller.

Opposition to application filed: after the application has been accepted by the Controller, notice that it has been accepted will be published in the Gazette of Pakistan Part V after which any opposition may be filed. The Notice of Opposition should be filed in duplicate on the prescribed form within four months of the date of advertisement of the “acceptance” of the complete specification.

Reasons and procedure for opposition: opposition may be filed by anyone on the following grounds: (1) that the opponent is the inventor or legal representative, agent, attorney or assignee thereof; (2) that the invention is not a patentable invention within the meaning of the Ordinance; (3) that the specification is not clear and complete, to be carried out by a person skilled in the art; (4) that the claims are not clear or extend beyond the scope of the disclosures in the complete specification as originally filed; (5) that the complete specification does not tally with the provisional specification. The Controller will then inform the applicant of the opposition. An appeal against the decision of the Controller as regards the opposition can be made to the Central Government.

Provisional registration: an invention may, during the period between the date of its application for a patent and the date of sealing a patent on that application, be used and published without prejudice to that patent. Protection from the consequences of use and publication is referred to in the Act as provisional protection.

Registration: an application which passes through the prescribed period for opposition either without any opposition or which successfully overcomes opposition (if any), becomes mature for the “sealing” of a patent and on sealing the patent is deemed to be registered.

Corrections: clerical errors in or in connection with an application for a patent, or in any patent or any specification, or in the name and address of the proprietor of any patent or in any other matter which is entered in the Register of Patents may be corrected by the Controller.

Publication: where an application for a patent has been abandoned or deemed to have been refused, the specification and drawings (if any) accompanying or left in connection with such an application shall not, save as otherwise expressly provided for by the Act, at any time, be laid open to public inspection or be published by the Controller.

Beginning of protection: protection begins on the date accorded to the application and in the case of a Convention application, the date of such earliest application filed in the Convention country from which priority has been claimed. Further, where a person has filed an application for the protection of a chemical product intended for use in medicine or agriculture and has obtained a marketing approval therefor in another Convention country, he shall be entitled to an exclusive privilege for marketing the said product for a period of five years after obtaining the marketing approval of the Ministry of Health, government of Pakistan or until the patent on the application is granted or rejected whichever period is shorter.

Duration: twenty years from date of filing.

Annuities: are due annually as from the end of the fourth patent year in respect of the fifth year.

Working: not compulsory.

Marking of patented goods: not compulsory, but the absence of marking would provide innocent infringers with exemption from liability for damages. Marking is therefore advisable.

Text of marking: every patented article may be marked with the year and the number of the patent under which the article is protected, e.g. “Patent No. … Year of Patent …”.

Amendment of issued patents: clerical errors, as mentioned above, may be rectified but improvements and modifications can only be protected by obtaining separate patents, which may be substantive patents, or patents of addition in respect of which no renewal fee is payable.

Revocation: revocation of a patent in whole or in part may be obtained on petition to or by a counterclaim in a suit for infringement before a High Court on one or more of the grounds upon which the grant of a patent may be rejected.

Assignment: any person who becomes entitled to a patent or to any interest therein as an assignee, mortgagee, licensee, etc., may make an application for the entry in the Register of Patents, of his name as proprietor or part proprietor.

License for exploitation: a license for exploitation of a patent may be obtained by any person from a patentee. Any person who becomes entitled to a patent or to any interest therein as a licensee, may make an application for the entry in the Register of Patents, of a notice of license affecting the patent.

Opposition to granted patents: the same as for “revocation of patents”.

Compulsory licenses: a compulsory license may be obtained, by requesting the Controller, under Section 59 of the Ordinance, for a non-voluntary license, on the grounds that the patented invention is not exploited or is insufficiently exploited by working the invention locally or by importing in Pakistan.

Expropriation: upon a request for authorization under Section 58 where (a) the public interest, in particular, national security, nutrition, health or the development of other vital sectors of the national economy so requires or (b) the Federal Government has determined that the manner of exploitation by the owner of the patent or his licensee, is anti-competitive and the Federal Government is satisfied that the exploitation of the invention, in accordance with this subsection, would remedy such practices, the Federal Government may even without the consent of the owner of the patent decide that a government agency or a third person designated by the Federal Government may exploit a patented invention. The exploitation of patented invention shall however be limited to the purpose for which it was authorized and shall be subject to the payment to the owner of an adequate remuneration.

Nullification: patents for which renewal fees are payable will lapse if such fees are not paid within the prescribed time.

Validation of invalidated patents: a patent, which has lapsed owing to the non-payment of any prescribed renewal fee in prescribed time, may be restored by the Controller, on application for its restoration from the date on which the patent ceased to have effect by the person whose name has been entered in the Register of Patents as its proprietor for the time being or by any other person who would have been entitled to the patent if it had not ceased to have effect or in case of joint ownership by one or more of them with the leave of the Controller. Restoration depends on the satisfaction of the Controller that the proprietor of the patent took reasonable care to see that any renewal fee was paid within the prescribed period or that the fee and any prescribed additional fee were paid within six months immediately following the end of that period and those fees were not so paid because of circumstances beyond his control.

Infringement: a patentee may bring a suit in the District Court against any person who, during the life of a patent acquired by him in respect of any invention, makes, sells or uses the invention without a license, or counterfeits or imitates it.

Penalties: injunction (including orders for prevention of custom clearance of infringing goods and orders for desist from infringement) and damages (including payment of expenses etc).