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 from the Government of the Republic of Poland, on November 17, 2000, of a written communication dated November 10, 2000, relating to the acquisition of the status of International Depositary Authority by the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms, which states that this Depositary Institution is located on the territory of Poland and including a Declaration of Assurances to the effect that the Institution complies and will continue to comply with the requirements concerning the acquisition of the status of International Depositary Authority 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, and amended on September 26, 1980.
The IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms will have the status of International Depositary Authority under the Budapest Treaty as from the date of publication of the above communication in the December 2000 issue of Intellectual Property Laws and Treaties.
December 12, 2000
Text of the Communication by the Republic of Poland of the Appointment of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms as an International Depositary Authority
The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland presents its compliments to the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization and has the honor to inform him, pursuant to Article 7(1)(a) of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure of April 28, 1977, that the Government of the Republic of Poland declares the appointment of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms to perform the functions of an International Depositary Authority. The Government of the Republic of Poland assures that the Institution complies and will continue to comply with requirements concerning the acquisition of the status of International Depositary Authority as specified in Article 6(2) of the Budapest Treaty. The relevant communication by the Government of the Republic of Poland containing all the necessary information on this International Depositary Authority is enclosed herewith.
Geneva, 10 November 2000
Declaration of Assurances
1. Pursuant to Article 7(1)(a) of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, the Government of the Republic of Poland declares the appointment of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, Warsaw) to perform the functions of an International Depositary Authority.
2. The collection of microorganisms complies and will continue to comply with the requirements specified in Article 6(2) of the Budapest Treaty.
3. Name and address of the Collection:
Collection of Industrial Microorganisms
Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology (IAFB)
Ul. Rakowiecka 36
02-532 Warsaw
Poland
Tel.: (004822) 606 3691/606 3600
Fax: (004822) 849 0428
E-mail: kolekcja@ibprs.pl or misiewicz@ibprs.pl
4. Characteristics of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms according to Article 6(2) of the Treaty:
● The Collection of Industrial Microorganisms (IAFB 212) was created within the Department of Technical Microbiology, Central Institute of Agricultural and Food Industry in Cracow; it was transferred to the Institute of the Fermentation Industry in Warsaw in 1957. In the Department of Technical Microbiology and Biochemistry, Central Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology, the microorganisms in the Collection are cultured by a stationary method and preserved in freeze-dried and also deep-frozen form.
● The method of storage, the parameters determining it and the protective agents are selected mainly with a view to preserving some definite biotechnological properties, at times at the price of somewhat reduced survival prospects.
● The IAFB Collection contains microorganisms occurring in industry. It includes yeasts (wine, brewer's, distillery, baker's and feed yeasts), filamentous fungi (producing pectinolytic, cellulolytic and amylolytic enzymes as well as glucoamylase, protease, etc.) and bacteria of lactic acid, acetic acid and propionic acid fermentation, producing, inter alia, dextran.
● The IAFB Collection is a member of the World Federation for Culture Collections (WFCC, member No. 212) and the European Culture Collection Organization (ECCO).
● The basic activities of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms include the deposit, storage and distribution of bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi, which are used mainly in research, industrial application and training.
● In July 1993, an agreement between the Polish Patent Office and the Institute of Agricultural and Foods Biotechnology was signed under which the Collection was granted the status of Polish Depositary Authority.
● The Collection consists of some microbiological laboratories, a laboratory for freeze-drying cultures, a separate depository for cultures in the lyophilized state and a room for the deposit of microorganisms.
5. Microorganisms accepted for deposit with the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms:
Bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi are accepted which are capable of long-term preservation without any substantial change in their initial properties.
Note:
(a) Dangerous pathogens and species that can be hazardous to man and animals will not be accepted;
(b) Microorganisms with special requirements for cultivation that the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms is not capable of carrying out technically will not be accepted;
(c) Mixtures and cultures without scientific description and cultures that cannot be identified will not be accepted;
(d) When strains containing a plasmid are deposited, the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms will require information on the properties and classification of the plasmid and its host strain (i.e., group P1, P2, P3 or P4). The Collection will accept only plasmids and host strains belonging to group P1.
6. Fees (in PLN):
- For storage of a microorganism - 1,150.00
- For a viability statement - 80.00
- For the supply of samples of microorganisms - 100.00
7. The official language of the IAFB Collection of Industrial Microorganisms is Polish. Correspondence will also be accepted in English or Russian.
8. Pursuant to Article 7(2)(b) of the Treaty, the Collection will have the status of International Depositary Authority as from the date of publication of the communication by the International Bureau of WIPO.