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1823 The Description

MPEP SECTION SUMMARY

The description must disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art. A few further details on the description are outlined in this section and subsequent sub-sections including references to biological material and nucleotide and amino acid sequence listings.

PCT Article 5. The Description

The description shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.

PCT Rule 5. The Description.

(a) The description shall first state the title of the invention as appearing in the request and shall:

(i) specify the technical field to which the invention relates;
(ii) indicate the background art which, as far as known to the applicant, can be regarded as useful for the understanding, searching and examination of the invention, and, preferably, cite the documents reflecting such art;
(iii) disclose the invention, as claimed, in such terms that the technical problem (even if not expressly stated as such) and its solution can be understood, and state the advantageous effects, if any, of the invention with reference to the background art;
(iv) briefly describe the figures in the drawings, if any;
(v) set forth at least the best mode contemplated by the applicant for carrying out the invention claimed; this shall be done in terms of examples, where appropriate, and with reference to the drawings, if any; where the national law of the designated State does not require the description of the best mode but is satisfied with the description of any mode (whether it is the best contemplated or not), failure to describe the best mode contemplated shall have no effect in that State;
(vi) indicate explicitly, when it is not obvious from the description or nature of the invention, the way in which the invention is capable of exploitation in industry and the way in which it can be made and used, or, if it can only be used, the way in which it can be used; the term “industry” is to be understood in its broadest sense as in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

(b) The manner and order specified in paragraph (a) shall be followed except when, because of the nature of the invention, a different manner or a different order would result in a better understanding and a more economic presentation.
(c) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (b), each of the parts referred to in paragraph (a) shall preferably be preceded by an appropriate heading as suggested in the Administrative Instructions.

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The headings of the parts of the description should be as follows:

(i) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(i), “Technical Field”;
(ii) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(ii), “Background Art”;
(iii) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(iii), “Disclosure of Invention” or “Summary of Invention”;
(iv) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(iv), “Brief Description of Drawings”;
(v) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(v), “Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention,” or, where appropriate, “Mode(s) for Carrying Out the Invention” or “Description of Embodiments;
(vi) for matter referred to in Rule 5.1(a)(vi), “Industrial Applicability”;
(vii) for matter referred to in Rule 5.2(a), “Sequence Listing”;
(viii) for matter referred to in Rule 5.2(b), “Sequence Listing Free Text.”

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(a) To the extent that any indication with respect to deposited biological material is not contained in the description, it may be given on a separate sheet. Where any such indication is so given, it shall preferably be on Form PCT/RO/134 and, if furnished at the time of filing, the said Form shall, subject to paragraph (b), preferably be attached to the request and referred to in the check list referred to in Rule 3.3(a)(ii).
(b) For the purposes of designated Offices, which have so notified the International Bureau under Rule 13 bis.7(a), paragraph (a) applies only if the said Form or sheet is included as one of the sheets of the description of the international application at the time of filing.

(a) The application must meet the requirements as to the content and form of the description set forth in PCT Rules 5, 9, 10, and 11 and sections 204 and 208 of the Administrative Instructions.
(b) In international applications designating the United States the description must contain upon filing an indication of the best mode contemplated by the inventor for carrying out the claimed invention.


The details required for the disclosure of the invention so that it can be carried out by a person skilled in the art depend on the practice of the national Offices.

  • It is therefore recommended that due account be taken of national practice in the United States of America when the description is drafted.

This applies likewise to the need to indicate the “best mode for carrying out the invention.”

  • If at least one of the designated Offices requires the indication of the best mode (for instance, the United States Patent and Trademark Office), that best mode must be indicated in the description.

A description drafted with due regard to what is said in these provisions will be accepted by all the designated Offices.

  • It might require more care than the drafting of a national patent application, but certainly much less effort than the drafting of multiple applications, which is necessary where the PCT route is not used for filing in several countries.

 

1823.01   Reference to Deposited Biological Material  

MPEP SECTION SUMMARY

The PCT does not require the inclusion of a reference to a biological material and/or to its deposit with a depositary institution in an international application; it merely prescribes the contents of any “reference to deposited biological material” (defined as “particulars given... with respect to the deposit of biological material... or to the biological material so deposited”) which is included in an international application, and when such a reference must be furnished.

 

1823.02   Nucleotide and/or Amino Acid Sequence Listings, and Tables Related to Sequence Listings

MPEP SECTION SUMMARY

Where an international application discloses one or more nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences, the description must contain a sequence listing complying with the standard specified in the Administrative Instructions.

Tables related to a sequence listing must be an integral part of the description of the international application (PCT), and must not be included in the sequence listing part or the drawing part.



» 1824 The Claims