Which countries are members of the Patent Cooperation Treaty?

The official list of member countries of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) can be found on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website. Here is the link to the page which lists all member countries of PCT: PCT contracting states.

This page lists all the member countries of the PCT, as well as the date they joined the treaty, the date of entry into force of the PCT for that country, and the international search authority and international preliminary examining authority designated by that country.

Which member countries have the top gross domestic products?

As of 2021, the members of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with the top GDP are:

1. United States
2. China
3. Japan
4. Germany
5. United Kingdom
6. India
7. France
8. Brazil
9. Italy
10. Canada
11. Australia
12. South Korea
13. Russia
14. Spain
15. Mexico

Are there any non-member countries of the PCT that you should consider seeking patent protection?

Yes, there are significant countries that are not members of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.  By significant, I mean countries which have good manufacturing capabilities or a high gross domestic product.  These are the countries where you might consider obtaining a patent.

Countries with a high gross domestic product or good manufacturing capabilities are:

1. Taiwan
2. Argentina
3. Parts of the Arab world

An important country that a forget to file in is Taiwan.  It’s a geographically small country but has a significant amount of manufacturing and a high gross domestic product.

Which PCT member countries have the highest patent filings per year?

The countries with the highest patent filings per year are:

1. United States: The US has the largest number of patent filings per year, with the majority of filings coming from large technology companies such as IBM, Samsung, and Intel.
2. China: China has rapidly grown to become the second-largest filer of patents in recent years, driven by rapid economic growth and a focus on technological innovation.  However, this number may be skewed because they include filing for a utility model patent that is never examined and has low quality.
3. Japan: Japan has a long-standing tradition of innovation and has consistently been among the top filers of patents.
4. South Korea: South Korea has also grown over the years as a country with significant technology.
5. European Union: The European Union isn’t a country but the European Patent Office (EPO) receives a large number of patent filings.

Which PCT member countries have poor enforcement of patent rights?

No objective measure exists to determine which PCT member countries have poor enforcement of patent rights.  Many of these PCT member countries have strong patent laws that give strong patent rights to inventors.  However, anecdotally, some countries have a reputation for not enforcing their patent rights or making it difficult to enforce the patents that they grant to inventors.  These include some developing countries, countries in the Middle East and Africa, and China.