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| History of the Patent Culture
Collection |
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In 1949, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
implemented its new requirement that cultures be deposited
in conjunction with patent applications concerning
microbiological inventions. The reasoning was that
for chemical, electrical, or mechanical patents, a
diagram or formula can sufficiently describe the invention,
whereas in a microbiological patent, illustrations
and narrative descriptions are generally inadequate
to define sufficiently the microorganism used and
therefore comply with the requirement for a full and
complete disclosure of the invention. The Patent Office
initially asked the American Type Culture Collection
(ATCC) to serve as depository for patent strains but,
at that time, the ATCC was not prepared to assume
this function. The other major U.S. collection, the
ARS Culture Collection, accepted the invitation of
the Patent Office and became the first culture collection
in the U.S., and apparently in the world, to accession
a patent strain. That organism was Streptomyces
aureofaciens NRRL 2209, the strain deposited
by the American Cyanamid Company for aureomycin production.
Shortly thereafter, the American Type Culture Collection
also began accepting patent strains.
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| Patent Collection Procedures
and Policies |
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Microorganisms
accepted by the ARS Patent Culture Collection must
be essentially non-pathogenic to humans and animals
(confinement not to exceed BL-2) and should not be
particularly fastidious in their growth requirements.
Plant, human, and animal cell lines are not accepted
and we generally do not accept mixed microbial cultures.
Strains to be deposited in the ARS Patent Culture
Collection in association with a patent application
must be accompanied by a completed Patent Collection
Deposit form. This form in editable PDF format is
available here
(PDF, 21kb ). Please note that changes
to the form cannot be saved and therefore the completed
form should be printed before closing the PDF file.
Specifics of the patent deposit process can be found
in the Patent Collection Procedures and Policies.
(PDF). Please contact the Collection Manager, Mr.
James Swezey (e-mail: james.swezey@ars.usda.gov)
prior to sending your strains to determine if they
can be accepted into the collection. Strains
will not be accepted into the collection without prior
approval. Since November 1,1983, a onetime
user fee of $500 is charged for each deposit and a
$20 user fee is also assessed for the distribution
of patent cultures accessioned after that date.
Detailed
description of the procedures and policies of the
ARS Patent Culture Collection in PDF format are available
here (PDF, 53 kb).
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