Lee International

WIPO Standard ST.26 for sequence listings was approved by the Committee on WIPO Standards (CWS) and implemented as of July 1, 2022.   Accordingly, to file a patent application including nucleotide or amino acid sequences with any WIPO Member State, including Korea, it is now required to submit a sequence listing prepared in compliance with WIPO Standard ST.26.  With the adoption of ST.26 as the new standard for sequence listings, the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has revised its regulations. 

Specifically, if a patent application is filed with an electronic version of a sequence listing in accordance with ST.26, it is deemed that the specification describes the sequence listing in the electronic file.  Thus, a separate description of the sequence listing is no longer required in the specification.  

Since an electronic file of the sequence listing itself is deemed to be part of the specification, patent applicants should be careful not to omit any sequences when preparing a sequence listing.  Further, caution must be exercised when amending an electronic sequence listing file as it is deemed an amendment to the specification.