Budapest Notification No. 34
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure

Communication of the United States of America Relating to the Acquisition of the Status of International Depositary Authority by In Vitro International, Inc.

The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) presents his compliments to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and has the honor to notify him of the receipt, on September 21, 1983, of a written communication from the Government of the United States of America, relating to In Vitro International, Inc., indicating that the said depositary institution is located on the territory of the United States of America and including a declaration of assurances to the effect that the said institution complies and will continue to comply with the requirements concerning the acquisition of the status of international depositary authority as specified in Article 6(2) of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, done at Budapest on April 28, 1977.

In Vitro International, Inc., will acquire the status of international depositary authority under the Budapest Treaty as from November 30, 1983, the date of publication of the said communication in the November 1983 issue of Industrial Property/La Propriété industrielle (see Article 7(2)(b) of the said Treaty).

November 3, 1983

Text of the Written Communication of the Government of the United States of America, addressed to the Director General of WIPO, dated September 9, 1983, and Relating to In Vitro International, Inc.

COMMUNICATION

1. As provided in Article 7 of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, the Government of the United States of America proposes that In Vitro International, Inc. be recognized as an international depositary authority. We offer our assurances that this depositary can and will meet every requirement prescribed by the Treaty and Rules thereunder for international depositary authorities. Accordingly, you are requested to take the steps necessary to confer this status on In Vitro International, Inc.

2. This depositary is a joint venture of University Micro Reference Laboratory, of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Intra Gene International, Inc., of Niagara Falls, New York. In Vitro International, Inc. is a corporation, registered under the laws of the State of Michigan. This depositary is located in the United States at 7885 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103. It has since 1981 been in the business of maintaining a culture collection for supplying cultures to universities, hospitals, clinics and medical diagnostic laboratories around the world. These cultures are preserved in freeze-dried form and exacting quality control standards are maintained to preserve their integrity. Presently, the depositary's collection consists of 200 cultures, of which six were made in connection with United States patent applications.

3. In Vitro International, Inc. will accept for deposit under the Budapest Treaty any of the following: algae, bacteria, bacteria with plamids, bacteriophages, cell cultures, fungi, protozoa and animal and plant viruses. Recombinant strains of microorganisms will also be accepted, but the depositary must be notified in advance of accepting the deposit of the physical containment level required for the host vector system, as prescribed by the National Institutes of Health guidelines. At present, In Vitro International, Inc. will accept only hosts containing recombinant plasmids that can be worked in a P1 or P2 facility.

4. In Vitro International, Inc. utilizes a working staff of five professional microbiologists holding graduate degrees. Its scientific advisory board includes prominent individuals, in the field of bacterial taxonomy, physiology, mycology, and virology. The depositary has never failed to observe any requirement of a national patent law, or to apply the highest administrative and scientific standards to the receiving, storing, testing and dispensing of deposits.

5. This depositary possesses and will use in connection with deposits under the Treaty all the facilities needed to carry out the obligations imposed thereunder. It does now and will continue to perform its work impartially and objectively, and treat all depositors in exactly the same manner.

6. As required by Rule 3.1(b)(iv), enclosed is a fee schedule applicable to deposits under the Treaty. These fees do not vary on account of the nationality or residence of the person paying them. The depositary will conduct business in English in regard to Treaty matters.

7. We request that recognition be conferred as from the date of publication of this communication.

FEE SCHEDULE
DEPOSITS FOR PATENT PROCEDURE UNDER THE BUDAPEST TREATY