T he 9-th session of the Standing Committee on Patent Law took place on May 12-16, 2003 in the premises of WIPO, Geneva. Representatives from 86 member states, 5 intergovernmental organizations and 23 nongovernmental organizations participated therein. Taking into consideration the explosive development of science and practice in all fields of human activity, extension of the list of patentable objects and the prospects of such development in the near future, the participants in the session gave their opinions for the simplification of the procedure, patentability requirements, for definitions offering the possibility to expand the list of patentable objects in the future. The main idea of the treaty is to “unify the PA examination procedure” in all countries party to the SPLT, PLT and PCT.