PCT Information Update
FI Finland (institutions with which deposits of microorganisms and other biological material may be made)
The address of the VTT Culture Collection (VTTCC), an International Depositary Authority under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, has changed as follows:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Tekniikantie 21
Espoo
Finland
Furthermore, the Office has specified the following storage conditions regarding the kind of microorganisms that may be deposited:
Bacteria (including actinomycetes) and fungi (including yeasts) that can be preserved without significant damage to or loss of their properties or viability in liquid nitrogen or by freeze-drying.
India (fee reductions)
The Indian Patent Office has notified changes with effect from 15 March 2024 to the conditions of eligibility for the reduction in the search fee, additional search fee, protest fee and late furnishing fee for sequence listings payable to it as International Searching Authority, as well as in the conditions of eligibility for reduction in the preliminary examination fee, additional fee, protest fee, and late furnishing fee for sequence listings payable to it as International Preliminary Examining Authority − the fees are reduced by 75% where the applicant is a natural person, startup, small entity, or an educational institution.
(Updating of PCT Applicant’s Guide, Annex D (IN) and Annex E (IN))
Search fee (Egyptian Patent Office, Israel Patent Office)
As from 1 May 2024, there will be a change in the equivalent amount payable in CHF for an international search carried out by the Israel Patent Office. The new amount will be CHF 964.
As from 1 June 2024, there will be a change in the equivalent amounts payable in CHF, EUR and USD for an international search carried out by the Egyptian Patent Office. The new amounts will be CHF 76, EUR 78 and USD 84.