INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Budapest Treaty
Filing by the European Patent Organisation of the declaration specified in Article 9 of the Budapest Treaty
On 26th August 1980, the President of the European Patent Office, acting on behalf of the European Patent Organisation, filed with the Director General of WIPO the declaration specified in Article 9 of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure. This declaration states that the Organisation accepts the obligation of recognition provided for in Article 3(1)(a) of the Budapest Treaty, the obligation concerning the requirements referred to in Article 3(2) of the said Treaty and all the effects of the provisions of that Treaty and the Regulations applicable to intergovernmental industrial property organisations.
The declaration will become effective from 26 November 1980.
In accordance with the declaration, the European Patent Office will recognise, as from that date, for the purposes of Rules 28 and 28a of the EPC, the deposit of micro-organisms with any international depositary authority. Such recognition will include the recognition of the fact and date of the deposit as indicated by the international depositary authority as well as the recognition of the fact that what is furnished as a sample is a sample of the deposited micro-organism.
At the date of this notice going to print, no depositary institution had yet acquired the status of international depositary authority under Article 7 of the Budapest Treaty. However, several institutions are expected to acquire such status in the near future and immediate announcement will be made of this in the Official Journal.
Therefore, under Rule 28, paragraph 9, the depositary institutions recognised for the purpose of Rules 28 and 28a of the EPC are at present only those mentioned in Official Journal No. 8/1978, p. 401 and No. 1/1980, pp. 4 to 6.