Innovation & intellectual property · 15/06/1998

Request for Comments on Interim Guidelines for Examination of Patent Applications Under the 35 U.S.C. 112 para. 1 ``Written Description'' Requirement

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) requests comments from any interested member of the public on the following interim guidelines. These guidelines will be used by PTO personnel in their review of biotechnological patent applications for compliance with the ``written description'' requirement of 35 U.S.C. 112 para. 1. Although the guidelines are directed primarily to written descriptions of biotechnological inventions, they reflect the current understanding of the PTO and apply across the board to all relevant technologies.