Patent Deposit

Deposit of Cultures for Patent Purposes

The NCYC is an International Depository Authority (IDA) under the Budapest Treaty and as such can accept yeasts, other than known pathogens, for patent purposes. A single deposition at an IDA such as NCYC meets the deposit requirements of patent offices in all countries party to the Treaty and so gives patent protection in all these countries. Deposits must be made no later than the filing date of the relevant patent application and preferably earlier if possible. The date of deposit will be the date on which the NCYC physically receives a viable sample of the organism.

Potential depositors should contact the NCYC to obtain an application form and the Budapest Treaty accession form. Cultures can be accepted freeze dried or on agar slopes and should be securely packed.

When the viability of the culture has been tested, the depositor will be sent a receipt and viability statement giving the accession number and date of deposit. These documents should be kept carefully for use in a patent application. They will also be needed if a new deposit of the culture has to be made at a later date. The depositor will also be sent a sample of the culture after preservation to check its authenticity as representative of the original deposit.

All information is treated as confidential and patent deposits are not listed in the catalogue or databases unless specifically requested by the depositors. It is our understanding that the Patent is the publication that directs people through the correct route to obtain a Budapest Treaty Patent strain and not the catalogue or published records of the holding Collection. We will only release a strain cited in a Budapest Treaty Patent on written authorisation from the patent Office or the official depositor.

Release of Cultures Under The Budapest Treaty: Organisms are made available only to those parties entitled under Rule 11 of the Treaty to receive them.

These are as follows:

(a) the patent office(s) with which the application has been filed;
(b) anyone having the depositor’s specific written authorization to receive a culture;
(c) anyone making a request on the official form on which the relevant patent office has certified that he is entitled to receive a culture;
(d) anyone requesting under US patent law an organism which is the subject of a granted and published US patent, provided that the NCYC is supplied with evidence that the patent has been issued.

Depositors will be notified of the name and address of the recipient every time a sample of their organism is sent out. Strains listed in the catalogue as patent strains may not be used to infringe the patent claims. The fee covers the first viability test, storage for at least thirty years as required by the Treaty and issue of all official notifications.