What is the PCT and how many member states are there?

The PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) is an international patent law treaty that provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in its contracting states. The exact number of member states changes over time as new countries join.

According to the MPEP, An updated list of PCT Contracting States is available from WIPO’s website. This means that the most current and accurate information can be found directly from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

To find the current list of PCT member states, you can visit:

• WIPO’s PDF list of PCT Contracting States
• WIPO’s webpage of PCT Contracting States

To learn more:

• PCT
• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• WIPO
• Contracting States
• International Patents