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The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is in the process of amending the rules of practice related to the requirements for applications containing nucleotide sequence and/or amino acid disclosures. A Final Rule entitled "Requirements for Patent Applications Containing Nucleotide Sequence and/or Amino Acid Disclosures" (Sequence Disclosure Final Rule) that will have an effective date of July 1, 1998 is expected to be published in the Federal Register and Official Gazette in the near future.
In the morning on April 21, 1998, the PTO will hold a first information session pertaining to changes to the rules of practice in the Sequence Disclosure Final Rule. The purpose of this first information session is to: (1) give an overview of the requirements of the rules of practice as amended by the Sequence Disclosure Final Rule; (2) identify changes from the requirements of the current rules of practice; and (3) answer any questions about implementation of the Sequence Disclosure Final Rule. This first information session will be held in Crystal Park 2, room 200 (2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202) from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON. Copies of the Sequence Disclosure Final Rule will be available.
In the afternoon on April 21, 1998, a second information session will be held to introduce the new PatentIn version 2.0 software, which was developed by the Trilateral Offices (USPTO, EPO, JPO) to assist applicants in submitting a Sequence Listing in compliance with the rules of practice as amended by the Sequence Disclosure Final Rule, and also in compliance with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) Standard ST.25, "Standard for the Presentation of Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listings in Patent Applications." PatentIn version 2.0 requires the use of MS-Windows and has an English, French, German or Spanish interface. This second information session, which includes an overview of PatentIn, will be held in Crystal Park 2, room 200 (2121 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202) from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. The official distribution of PatentIn version 2.0 software and related documentation will be available to download for free from the PTO Web site (http://www.uspto.gov/) by June 1998. Copies of the software and documentation will also be available on 3.5 inch diskette for $25.00 each.
If interest warrants, PTO will schedule a PatentIn version 2.0 workshop on April 22, 1998, from 9:00 AM -12:00 NOON for those who wish to obtain hands-on experience with the new software. This workshop would include a PTO instructor, and each attendee would be given access to a computer workstation and provided with training materials to assist in learning the new PatentIn version 2.0 program. Space is limited to twenty-two attendees. Details on the location of this workshop will be provided when a space is reserved. Space for the workshop is limited and reservations will be allotted on a first come, first served basis.
Individuals interested in attending the first or second information session or the PatentIn version 2.0 software workshop, all of which are free of charge, should contact Meredith Beckhardt by telephone at (703) 306-4119, or by electronic mail at meredith.beckhardt@uspto.gov
Last Modified: 27 March 1998