Administrative Instructions under the Patent Cooperation Treaty

Section 335
Procedures Relating to Sequence Listings

(a)  Sections 305bis, 308(b), 308bis to 310ter and 325 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any sequence listing furnished as a separate electronic file in the relevant procedures, subject to paragraphs (b) to (d) and any special provisions set out in Annex C.

(b)  Where the receiving Office receives a sequence listing on a physical medium, that Office shall physically label the medium with the words "SEQUENCE LISTING" together with other markings equivalent to those required for sheets filed or submitted according to Sections 308(b), 308bis to 310ter or 325, as the case may be, in accordance with the procedures in Annex C.

(c)  The receiving Office shall keep the contents of any file received from the applicant representing a sequence listing unchanged.  Any required annotation concerning the international application number or purpose for which the sequence listing was furnished shall be recorded in the filename or other metadata associated with the file in accordance with the procedures in Annex C.

(d)  Where the receiving Office receives a sequence listing under Rule 13ter for the purposes of international search and any accompanying statement as set out in Annex C, it shall forward these to the International Searching Authority, together with the search copy or as soon as possible thereafter.