MPEP § 2412.03(a) — “Specifically Defined” (Annotated Rules)
§2412.03(a) “Specifically Defined”
This page consolidates and annotates all enforceable requirements under MPEP § 2412.03(a), including statutory authority, regulatory rules, examiner guidance, and practice notes. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.
“Specifically Defined”
This section addresses “Specifically Defined”.
Key Rules
Sequence Listing Content
[Editor Note: This section is applicable to all applications with a filing date, or, for national phase applications, an international filing date, on or after July 1, 2022, having disclosure of one or more nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences as defined in 37 CFR 1.831(b).]
Citations
| Primary topic | Citation |
|---|---|
| Sequence Listing Content | 37 CFR § 1.831(b) |
Source Text from USPTO’s MPEP
This is an exact copy of the MPEP from the USPTO. It is here for your reference to see the section in context.
Official MPEP § 2412.03(a) — “Specifically Defined”
Source: USPTO2412.03(a) “Specifically Defined” [R-01.2024]
[Editor Note: This section is applicable to all applications with a filing date, or, for national phase applications, an international filing date, on or after July 1, 2022, having disclosure of one or more nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences as defined in 37 CFR 1.831(b).]
37 CFR 1.831 Requirements for patent applications filed on or after July 1, 2022, having nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures.
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- (e) “Specifically defined” means any amino acid or nucleotide as defined in paragraph 3(k) of WIPO Standard ST.26.
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WIPO Standard ST.26, paragraph 3(k), provides that “specifically defined” means any nucleotide other than those represented by the symbol “n” and any amino acid other than those represented by the symbol “X,”, wherein “n” and “X” are used in a conventional manner as shown below in Table 1 for nucleotide symbols and Table 3 for amino acids symbols.
| Symbol | Definition |
|---|---|
| a | adenine |
| c | cytosine |
| g | guanine |
| t | thymine in DNA/uracil in RNA (t/u) |
| m | a or c |
| r | a or g |
| w | a or t/u |
| s | c or g |
| y | c or t/u |
| k | g or t/u |
| v | a or c or g; not t/u |
| h | a or c or t/u; not g |
| d | a or g or t/u; not c |
| b | c or g or t/u; not a |
| n | a or c or g or t/u; “unknown” or “other” |
Reproduced from WIPO Standard ST.26, Annex I, Section 1.
| Symbol | Definition |
|---|---|
| A | Alanine |
| R | Arginine |
| N | Asparagine |
| D | Aspartic acid (Aspartate) |
| C | Cysteine |
| Q | Glutamine |
| E | Glutamic acid (Glutamate) |
| G | Glycine |
| H | Histidine |
| I | Isoleucine |
| L | Leucine |
| K | Lysine |
| M | Methionine |
| F | Phenylalanine |
| P | Proline |
| O | Pyrrolysine |
| S | Serine |
| U | Selenocysteine |
| T | Threonine |
| W | Tryptophan |
| Y | Tyrosine |
| V | Valine |
| B | Aspartic acid or Asparagine |
| Z | Glutamine or Glutamic acid |
| J | Leucine or Isoleucine |
| X | A or R or N or D or C or Q or E or G or H or I or L or K or M or F or P or O or S or U or T or W or Y or V; “unknown” or “other” |
Reproduced from WIPO Standard ST.26, Annex I, Section 3.