This page consolidates MPEP guidance interpreting 35 U.S.C. § 208, including 22 rules from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only, it is not legal advice.

Summary

This section requires international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to include a sequence listing in their descriptions if they contain nucleotide or amino acid sequences.

What this section covers

• This section covers the requirements for including sequence listings in international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Key obligations

• Practitioners must ensure that the description of an international application includes a sequence listing if it contains nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences.
• The sequence listing must be included in the description of the international application as required by PCT Rule 5.2.

Practice notes

• Drafters should ensure that the sequence listing is properly formatted and includes all required information as specified in PCT Rule 5.2.
• Failure to include the sequence listing may result in the rejection of the international application, as it is a critical requirement for disclosing nucleotide and amino acid sequences.

Related Provisions

• 37 CFR § 1.445
• PCT Rule 5
• PCT Rule 13ter
• 37 CFR § 1.835

Based on MPEP Last Modified: 10/30/2024 08:50:22