Learn about World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standard ST.26 and upcoming changes to sequence listings filed in patent applications that contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences. Standard ST.26, requiring XML formatting, will go into effect worldwide on July 1, 2022, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is adopting new rules (37 CFR 1.831-1.835 and 1.839) to implement this standard.
Currently, the USPTO and international/foreign patent offices accept ST.25-compliant sequence listings (in the USPTO, compliant with 37 CFR 1.821-1.825) when patent applications are filed with disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences. Such electronically filed sequence listings facilitate enablement determinations, prior art searching, and publication of such information disclosed in patent applications. The WIPO, along with certain member states including the United States, developed a new sequence standard, Standard ST.26, so that sequence information disclosed in patent applications will be publicly available in a high-quality, searchable format.
Along with all international/foreign patent offices, the USPTO is adopting Standard ST.26 on July 1, 2022, by implementing regulations published at 87 Fed. Reg. 30806, (May 20, 2022). Beginning July 1, sequence listings filed electronically in XML format must be filed via the USPTO’s Patent Center.
During the Patent Quality Chat, USPTO legal and technical experts will present an overview of the new USPTO rules that are based on WIPO Standard ST.26. The presentation will provide guidance on how you will be able to submit a compliant sequence listing in U.S. patent applications and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications filed on or after July 1, 2022, that contain disclosures of nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences.
Questions submitted via email to patentquality@uspto.gov during the chat will be answered live as time permits.
Patent practitioners and sequence listing specialists should attend the virtual event. Captioning service will be provided. The event will also be recorded and posted shortly thereafter on USPTO’s Sequence Listing Resource Center.
Accessibility accommodation
If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please submit your request to the contact information listed above.