What is the Paris Convention?
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, concluded in 1883 and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is one of the foundational treaties of the international IP system. Malaysia has been a member state since 1 January 1989.
The Convention establishes a framework for cross-border industrial property protection, covering patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, and indications of source.
How Priority Works
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property has 181 contracting states as of 2025, making it one of the most widely ratified treaties in the field of intellectual property. Under the Convention, an applicant who has filed an application for a patent, utility model, industrial design, or trademark in one member state may, within a prescribed period, file corresponding applications in any of the other member states and claim the filing date of the first application as the “priority date.”
The filing date of the first application (the “priority application” or “priority document”) establishes the priority date. Subsequent applications filed in other Paris Convention member states within the priority period are treated, for the purposes of novelty and prior art, as if they had been filed on that earlier priority date.
The length of the priority period depends on the type of right:
- 12 months for patents for invention and utility models;
- 6 months for industrial designs and trademarks.
The priority period runs from the filing date of the first (priority) application in a Paris Convention member state. It is important not to confuse the Convention priority period with a “grace period,” which is a separate concept relating to non-prejudicial disclosures by the inventor prior to filing.
Member states List of Paris Convention Contracting States
Is An International Patent Possible?
A single international association that is able to assign patent protection to all nations and regions with a single patent application does not exist. An ‘international patent’, therefore, is not possible — applicants must apply for patent protection in each country individually.
International patent application through the Paris Convention, or the Patent Cooperation Treaty, however, will enable applicants to seek patent protection in contracting states under the Paris Convention or the PCT. These routes are most relevant to applicants hoping to gain patent protection internationally.
National Treatment
The Paris Convention is made up of 181 member states as of 2025, also known as Contracting States. The Convention determines that each Contracting State must grant the same protection to nationals of other Contracting States as it provides to its own nationals.
National treatment also applies to nationals of non-Contracting States who are domiciled in a Contracting State, or who have real and functional industrial or commercial establishment(s) in a Contracting State.
Common Rules
The Paris Convention sets out a number of common rules that all Contracting States must follow. The principal patent-specific rules are:
- Independence of patents. The granting of a patent in one Contracting State does not guarantee the other Contracting States to grant a patent — patents granted for the same invention in different Contracting States are independent of each other.
- Right to be named. The inventor has the right to be named as the inventor in the patent.
- No refusal based on domestic sale restrictions. The grant of a patent may not be refused or invalidated on the grounds that the sale of the patented product, or the acquisition of the product by means of the patented process, is subject to the constraints of domestic law.
- Compulsory licences. Only under specific conditions may each Contracting State take legislative measures providing for the grant of compulsory licences to prevent abuses that may result from the exclusive rights conferred by a patent.
The Paris Convention works alongside the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid System for trademarks to give Malaysian businesses streamlined access to international protection.
Advantages of the Paris Convention
1. International direct filings for non-PCT countries
The Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty each has its own signatory members. Although there are overlapping members between the two treaties, several countries are excluded from the PCT system, such as Taiwan, Argentina and Pakistan. If the applicant wishes to be granted patent protection in these nations, they will be required to conduct international direct filings via the Paris Convention.
2. 12-month grace period
The Paris Convention will appeal to applicants requiring a timely turnaround for patent protection. It provides a 12-month period from the priority date to file for patent protection in designated countries. This contrasts with the Patent Cooperation Treaty’s prolonged timeframe of 30 months before national-phase entry, which can delay entry to the examination queue by an additional 18+ months. The Paris Convention may be of greater interest to applicants hoping for a quicker turnaround.
3. Potential for lower overall costs
Patent applicants with a limited budget may prefer to file under the Paris Convention rather than the PCT, as the latter carries higher up-front fees. If the applicant wishes to file for patent protection in a small and select number of countries, the Paris Convention route may accrue less overall cost, especially if translations are not required for the designated countries. The Convention also allows applicants to defer foreign filing costs during the 12-month grace period.