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 3, 1987, of a written communication, dated August 27, 1987, from the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, relating to the National Bank for Industrial Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, indicating that the said depositary institution is located on the territory of the People's Republic of Bulgaria 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, and amended on September 26, 1980.
The National Bank for Industrial Microorganisms and Cell Cultures will acquire the status of international depositary authority under the Budapest Treaty as from October 31, 1987, the date of publication of the said communication in the October 1987 issue of Industrial Property/La Propriété industrielle.
September 16, 1987
Text of the Written Communication of the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria dated August 27, 1987, Relating to the National Bank for Industrial Microorganisms and Cell Cultures
COMMUNICATION
In accordance with Article 7.1 of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (hereinafter referred to as "the Treaty"), the Government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria proposes that the National Bank for Industrial Microorganisms and Cell Cultures (hereinafter referred to as "the Bank") should be recognized as an international authority for the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure.
The Bank can and will comply with all requirements envisaged by the Treaty and the Regulations for its application, in its capacity of a national authority for the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure.
The Bank was established by Decree No. 56 of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Bulgaria of December 30, 1983, as an independent legal entity. The Bank's headquarters is in Sofia, 125 Lenin Blvd., Block 2. The Bank is a member of the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC) under No. 135, and of the European Culture Collections Organization (ECCO), since July 14, 1987.
The Bank possesses, at the present stage, 1271 strains of microorganisms, 231 of which are legally protected within the People's Republic of Bulgaria.
The overall equipment of the Bank meets all the requirements for ensuring conditions for the existence of the microorganisms deposited and for elimination of the slightest possibility of infection. Most advanced scientific up-to-date methods of reception, conservation and storage of the microorganisms deposited are used, according to the Regulations for the application of the Budapest Treaty for the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure.
The Bank shall receive in deposit the following microorganisms: bacteria, actinomycetes, microscopic fungi, yeasts, microscopic algae, animal cell lines, animal viruses and plasmid containing microorganisms.
At present the Bank has 46 highly qualified specialists, 26 of which are university graduates, including nine research associates and seven masters of science. The Scientific-Technological Board at the Bank comprises specialists in microbiology, mycology, virology etc., possessing the necessary scientific degrees.
The official languages that the Bank will use are English and Russian.
The recognition of the Bank as an international authority for the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure will take effect as of the date of the publication of the present communication.
FEES FOR THE DEPOSIT OF STRAINS OF MICROORGANISMS FOR THE PURPOSES OF PATENT PROCEDURE ACCORDING TO THE TREATY
In accordance with Article 3(1)(a) of the Treaty, upon the lodging of an application for an authorship certificate or a patent, regarding a strain of microorganisms or its use, a deposit is required.
Upon the lodging of an application for an authorship certificate, the deposit with the Bank is free.
Upon the lodging of an application for a patent, the following fees are paid for the deposit with the Bank:
| Leva | ||
| - for the initial deposit and 30-years' storage | 1 000 | |
| - upon prolongation of the deposit for every next five-year period | 150 | |
| - for the furnishing of a sample of a deposited strain of microorganisms | 100 |