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 January 31, 1983, of a written communication from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, relating to the Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute, indicating that the said depositary institution is located on the territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.
The Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute will acquire the status of international depositary authority under the said Treaty as from March 31, 1983, the date of publication of the said communication in the March 1983 issue of Industrial Property/La Propriété industrielle (see Article 7(2)(b) of the said Treaty).
February 16, 1983
Text of the Written Communication of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland dated January 21, 1983, Relating to the Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute
COMMUNICATION
1. I have the honour to refer to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Micro-organisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, opened for signature at Budapest from the 28th of April to the 31st of December 1977. In accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the said Treaty, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland nominate the Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute as an International Depositary Authority. The Government of the United Kingdom furnish their assurances that the Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute complies and will continue to comply with the requirements specified in Article 6(2) of the Treaty for an International Depositary Authority. The requisite information concerning this nominated Depositary Institution is set out below.
2. Accordingly, I have the further honour to request that you carry out the procedures established by the Treaty and Regulations annexed to it, in connection with the acquisition of the status of International Depositary Authority by the Institution nominated herein.
3. The Culture Collection of the Commonwealth Mycological Institute (CMI CC) is located in the United Kingdom at the Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Ferry Lane, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AF, England.
4. The CMI CC is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux (CAB), a body of corporate status by virtue of the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux (Immunities and Privileges) Order 1982 (Statutory Instruments 1982 no 1071), laid before Parliament in accordance with the International Organisations Act 1981. The CMI CC is jointly supported by contributions from the 28 Commonwealth countries who are members of CAB and the Department of Industry.
5. The CMI CC has been in continuous existence since 1947 and housed since that date at the CMI. Before 1947 the cultures had been housed at the National Collection of Type Cultures at the Lister Institute. The CMI CC currently has a staff of seven, of whom one holds a University degree and one an equivalent qualification. In addition there is frequent and ready access to the expertise of 13 specialist taxonomists (all with University degrees) on the CMI staff. Additional administrative and support staff are available from the CMI. This staff is fully competent and adequate to perform the scientific and administrative tasks required under the Budapest Treaty. The CMI CC is affiliated to the World Federation for Culture Collections and has an undisputed reputation for work concerned with the preservation, testing, authentication and distribution of fungal cultures other than known human and animal pathogens, yeasts, and Hymenomycetes. At present the collection contains over 10,000 isolates of fungi and about 300-400 new isolates are added each year. The CMI CC performs its work in an impartial and objective way and will be available for the purposes of deposit under the Treaty to any Depositor under the same conditions.
6. The CMI CC has all the facilities necessary for the culturing, checking and long term preservation of the fungi it accepts for deposit. Cultures are maintained routinely by freeze drying and at ultra low temperatures (cryopreservation over liquid nitrogeon). These cultures are stored in sealed ampoules which prevent ingress of contaminating organisms. Cultures which do not survive the freeze drying process may be additionally preserved by subculturing with storage oil, water or deep freeze or by dispersing in soil or silica gel as appropriate. Duplicates of deposits are kept in a building separate from that housing the main collection. The highest scientific and administrative standards are applied to the culture deposited in the collection and full safety measures are in operation to minimise the risk of loss of any deposited cultures. Records of all deposited materials are kept on standard forms. A computer data processor is being introduced and duplicate computer records will be housed in a separate building to minimise risk of accidental loss or destruction. A computer masked file will be created for cultures deposited under the Budapest Treaty. Materials deposited under the Budapest Treaty will be preserved by cryopreservation and/or freeze drying. The freeze dried ampoules will be stored in locked drawers and the location codes for retrieval from liquid nitrogen will be stored in a locked file. Cultures deposited under the Treaty will be subject to appropriate care to avoid loss and contamination.
7. The CMI CC is equipped and run in full accordance with the United Kingdom Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, although it must be stressed that nearly all the cultures in the collection are non-pathogenic to man and only such cultures will be accepted for deposit under the Treaty.
8. The CMI CC will accept for deposit fungal isolates, other than known human and animal pathogens and yeasts, that can be preserved without significant change to their properties by the methods of preservation in use.
9. In accordance with the Regulations for implementing the Budapest Treaty, the CMI CC will:
(a) examine the viability of such organisms and store them;
(b) issue receipt and viability statements as prescribed;
(c) comply with the prescribed secrecy requirements; and
(d) furnish samples under the conditions and in conformity with the prescribed procedures.
10. On behalf of the nominated Depositary Institution, I have the honour to inform you that in accordance with Rule 6.3(a) the CMI CC requires before it will accept a micro-organism for deposit:
(1) that a deposit of a micro-organism shall be in an appropriate form and adequate quantity to enable CMI CC to carry out properly its duties under the Regulations;
(2) that the Accession Form established by the CMI CC for the purpose of administrative procedures be completed;
(3) that the written statement referred to in Rule 6.1(a) or 6.2(a) be drafted in English;
(4) that the fee for storage referred to in Rule 12.1(a)(i) be paid; and
(5) that the depositor complete the Application Form of the CMI CC in entering into a contract with the CMI CC establishing the terms and conditions on which deposit will be accepted.
11. The following fees will be payable to the CMI CC:
| - for storage of each isolate of micro-organism in accordance with the Treaty | £400 | |
| - for issue of a viability statement in those cases in which, in accordance with Rule 10.2, a fee may be charged | £50 | |
| - for furnishing of a sample in accordance with Rule 11.2 or 11.3 | £35 | |
| - for delivering an attestation in accordance with Rule 8.2. | £10 |
All charges paid within the United Kingdom are subject to Value Added Tax at the current rate.
12. The CMI CC conducts all its business in English.