The Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) presents his compliments and has the honor to notify the receipt, on February 27, 2026, of a communication dated February 25, 2026, from the Government of the Russian Federation regarding the extension of the list of kinds of microorganisms accepted for deposit; changes in the schedule of fees; changes in the technical requirements and procedures; and changes in the name and address of the Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM), and regarding changes in the name of the All-Russian Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (VKPM) and its contact details, which are international depositary authorities (IDAs) under the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (Budapest Treaty), done at Budapest on April 28, 1977, and amended on September 26, 1980 (see Budapest Notification No. 63 of July 28, 1987).
In accordance with Rule 12.2(c) of the Regulations under the Budapest Treaty, the new fees charged by VKM shall take effect on April 25, 2026, that is, on the thirtieth day following the publication of the changes by the International Bureau of WIPO.
March 26, 2026
Text of the Communication by the Government of the Russian Federation regarding the extension of the list of kinds of microorganisms accepted for deposit; changes in the schedule of fees; changes in the technical requirements and procedures; and changes in the name and address of the VKM, and regarding changes in the name of the VKPM and its contact details.
The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva presents its compliments to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and has the honor to refer to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (the Treaty) and to notify of the following changes with regard to the Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM) and the All-Russian Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (VKPM) as the International Depositary Authorities (IDAs).
In the case of VKM, the lists of kinds of microorganisms that may be deposited, as well as of kinds of material accepted, have been expanded. Amendments have also been introduced to the schedule of fees (amount and currency) and to several technical procedures. In addition, minor changes have been made to the English-language name of the collection, the depositary and its address. The relevant changes are set out in Annex 1 (underlined).
In respect of VKPM, the name of the collection has been changed to the National Center for Genetic Resources of Microorganisms (NCGRM). Amendments have also been made to the contact details of the depositary as set out in Annex 2 (underlined).
Accordingly, on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Permanent Mission has the further honor to request that the Director General of WIPO carry out the procedures established by the Treaty and the Regulations annexed to it in connection with the updating of information relating to the aforementioned IDAs.
ANNEX 1
Current information about the Collection:
https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/budapest-system/docs-en-guide-section-d-ru-vkm.pdf
Information that should be updated (underlined):
All-Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM)
G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBPM RAS)
| Address: | Prospekt Nauki 5
Pushchino Serpukhov Urban District Moscow Region 142290 Russian Federation |
| Website: | https://www.vkm.ru |
Requirements for Deposit
(a) Kinds of Microorganisms that May Be Deposited
Bacteria (including actinomycetes, cyanobacteria), archaea, fungi (including yeasts), and microalgae are accepted for deposit, to the exclusion of microorganisms that are covered by hazard categories in relation to man, animal or plant health and appear on the lists published by national regulatory authorities. Bacteriophages and plasmids (in hosts and not in hosts) are also accepted for deposit.
Kind of Material Accepted
Bacteria (non-pathogenic)
Fungi (non-pathogenic)
Yeasts (non-pathogenic)
Archaea
Microalgae
Cyanobacteria
Bacteriophages
Plasmids (in hosts and not in hosts)
(b) Technical Requirements and Procedures
(ii) Time Required for Viability Testing
The average length of time required for testing the viability of the different kinds of microorganisms accepted for deposit by VKM is given below; however, depositors should realize that in some cases viability testing may take longer, as indicated by the figures in brackets:
| Bacteria (actinomycetes, cyanobacteria) | 7 days (or up to 30 days) | |
| Bacteriophages, plasmids (in hosts) | 7 days (or up to 30 days) | |
| Fungi | 7 days (or up to 25 days) | |
| Yeasts | 7 days (or up to 14 days) | |
| Archaea | 7 days (or up to 40 days) | |
| Microalgae | 7 days (or up to 40 days) |
(iii) Depositor Checks and Renewal of Stocks
VKM prepares its own batches by subculturing material originally supplied by the depositor. As a rule, new batches are prepared from these and by subculturing VKM's own preparations as necessary thereafter for the renewal of diminishing stocks. VKM routinely asks the depositor to check the authenticity of the preparations made by VKM at the time of deposit from material supplied by the depositor. VKM routinely checks newly received deposits for contamination and, if they are found contaminated, it returns them to the depositor.
If technically possible, VKM stores original materials provided by the customer.
2. Furnishing of Samples
(b) Notification of the Depositor
Depositors are notified on model form BP/14 when samples of their microorganism have been furnished to third parties.
| 3. Schedule of Fees | EUR | ||
| (a) | Storage (30 years):
- bacteria (including actinomycetes, cyanobacteria), fungi (including yeasts), archaea, microalgae, cyanobacteria, bacteriophages, plasmids (in hosts and not in hosts) |
500 | |
| (b) | Issuance of a viability statement:
- bacteria (including actinomycetes, cyanobacteria), fungi (including yeasts), archaea, microalgae, cyanobacteria, bacteriophages, plasmids (in hosts and not in hosts) |
100 | |
| (c) | Furnishing of a sample:
- bacteria (including actinomycetes, cyanobacteria), fungi (including yeasts). archaea, microalgae. cyanobacteria, bacteriophages, plasmids (in hosts and not in hosts) |
100 | |
| (d) | Communication of information under Rule 7.6 or issuance of an attestation under Rule 8.2 | 30 | |
| (e) | Other fees (communication, carriage, etc.) | according to real cost | |
ANNEX 2
Current information about the Collection:
https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/budapest-system/docs-en-guide-section-d-ru-vkpm.pdf
Information that should be updated (underlined):
National Center for Genetic Resources of Microorganisms (NCGRM)
| Address: | NRC Kurchatov Institute
Ploshchad Akademika Kurchatova 1 Moscow 123182 Russian Federation |
| Telephone: | (7-499) 196 95 39
(7-499) 315 12 10 |
| E-mail: | nrcki@nrcki.ru
vkpm@genetika.ru |
| Website: | http://www.nrcki.ru
http://www.genetika.ru/vkpm |