WIPO welcomes the accession of its 150th member state – Djibouti, to the Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT] on June 23 2016. The Minister delegate to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of Trade, SMEs, Handicrafts and Tourism, Mr. Hassan Houmed Ibrahim deposited the country’s instrument of acession to the PCT and confirmed that the treaty will enter into force on September 23 2016.

We are pleased to inform you that United Trademark & Patent Services is in the final stages of opening its office in Djibouti, to cater to its domestic and international clientele. It will be our pleasure to provide you with further information regarding the same. You can direct your queries to patents@unitedtm.com.

Soon after the deposition of acession was formalized, Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO Director General and Mr. Hassan Houmed Ibrahim Minister delegate to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in charge of Trade, SMEs, Handicrafts and Tourism, issued the statement as follows:

"We are glad and pleased to be joining the PCT. This will stimulate our country’s innovators to explore business opportunities globally and facilitate the seeking of patent protection in our country by inventors from abroad" - Hassan Houmed Ibrahim

"With the acession of Djibouti, WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT] has reached the significant milestone of 150 member states. The PCT has been a remarkable success story since it commenced operations over 38 years ago, moving from modest beginnings to quickly becoming the central node of the international patent system and one of the most sucessful examples of multilateral cooperation between member states. Thanks to continued joint efforts and engagement by all PCT stakeholders aimed at constantly improving the system to meet stakeholders’ needs. I have every reason to believe that the PCT’s success story will continue in the years to come" - Francis Gurry

PCT applications filed on or after September 23 2016 will automatically designate all 150 member states including the new member – Djibouti. The acession of Djibouti to the PCT, will enable Applicants to receive search and examination reports during the international phase and thereby enabling them to take an informed decision before entering the national phase. Further details pertaining to the filing procedures and timelines such as national phase entry deadline will have to be formalized by the authorities. We will keep you posted in this regard as soon as the same is available.