2 June 2011

EPO Revises Procedure for Filing Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listings

EPO Revises Procedure for Filing Nucleotide and Amino Acid Sequence Listings

The European Patent Office has issued a notice revising the procedure for filing nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings for European and international patent applications.

The principal change with respect to the previous procedure is that for European patent applications, sequence listings now need to be submitted only in electronic form, ie, in text format (.txt). The sequence listing no longer has to be filed on paper or, in the case of electronic filing, in .pdf format.

This change entered into force on 1 June 2011 and applies to all patent applications filed on or after that date or pending on that date.

Useful links:

EPO notice