MPEP § 2403.01 — Material Capable of Self- Replication (Annotated Rules)
This page consolidates and annotates all enforceable requirements under MPEP § 2403.01, 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.
Material Capable of Self- Replication
This section addresses Material Capable of Self- Replication.
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 § 2403.01 — Material Capable of Self- Replication
Source: USPTO2403.01 Material Capable of Self- Replication [R-08.2012]
Biological material includes material that is capable of self-replication either directly or indirectly. Direct self-replication includes those situations where the biological material reproduces by itself. Representative examples of materials capable of self-replication are defined in the rule. Indirect self-replication is meant to include those situations where the biological material is only capable of replication when another self-replicating biological material is present. Self-replication after insertion in a host is one example of indirect self-replication. Examples of indirect replicating biological materials include viruses, phages, plasmids, symbionts, and replication defective cells. The list of representative examples of each type of replicating material includes viruses to demonstrate that the two lists in the rule are not intended to be mutually exclusive.