Jordan Amends Patent Law
Imran K. (May 20, 2017)
Jordan’s Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that the amended Patent Law No. 16 and the amended Patent Law No. 17 of 2017 have been published in the Official Gazette No. 5760, and entered into force on June 16, 2017.
Through the amended laws, Jordan is now better positioned in conformity with international patent-related treaties, in particular, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which Jordan became bound to on June 9, 2017.
Major amendments to Patent Law include:
1) Introduction of E-filing.
2) Possibility of withdrawing a patent application prior to its grant.
3) Publication of patent applications filed with the Jordanian Patent and Trademark Office (JPTO) became (18) months from filing or priority date. Hence, patent applications, including pending, granted or rejected patents will be accessible and searchable by the public.
These amendments will greatly enhance patent protection environment in the Kingdom, especially in the pharmaceutical sector, as it will prevent local industries from developing, commercializing, and potentially infringing valid patents due to lack of knowledge of the patent’s existence of a particular product, or process.
