On December 27, 2008, China's top legislature (the National People's Congress) approved the revision of the Patent Law. It became effective on Oct 1. The law was promulgated in 1984 and had previously been revised in 1992 and 2000. The first amendment added pharmaceutical compositions to the list of patentable items and introduced China's membership in the Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT"). The second amendment responded to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS") Agreement.