The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single "international" patent application. The PCT procedure consists of an international phase and a national/regional phase. The decision on whether to confer patent rights remains in the hands of the national and/or regional patent offices.

Useful links

• PCT Statistics: PCT monthly, quarterly and yearly statistics - www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/pct/
  
• WIPO Industrial Property Statistics: Statistics on patents, utility models, PCT, trademarks, industrial designs, plant varieties and microorganisms - www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/
• PATENTSCOPE®: WIPO’s gateway to patent services and activities – www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/