PTO News from Questel

SUZANNE H ELSOFFER (SHELSO@ccmail.monsanto.com)
Mon, 23 Oct 95 14:47 GMT

To PIUG-L listserv participants: Here comes the next PTO fee increase.
After requiring sequences in electronic form for searching, they now find
that it is more than they can handle. What, pray tell, did they expect?
What about revising the rules about what must be included as a SEQID? Of
course, some SEQID's are only RNA or DNA fragments when the rules clearly say
they must be included! The one sequence per application is also another way
to charge more for less.

Suzanne Elsoffer

______________________________ Forward Header ________________________________
Subject: PTO News from Questel
Author: GORDON F SIECKMANN at MONPCS02
Date: 10/21/95 7:47 AM

DNA/RNA SEQUENCE SEARCHES OVERWHELM PTO

DATELINE: October 20, 1995

STORY: The PTO is investigating ways to alleviate the burden placed
on biotechnology examining Group 1800 by applications to patent DNA
and RNA sequences. If evaluated fully, some of the applications,
which can contain as many as 45,000 sequences, would require 56
examiner years of labor, according to supervisory patent examiner
Robert Wax.

Currently, such applications are given to the PTO's Scientific and
Technical Information Center, which employs a powerful computer to
compare the sequences and their associated amino acids to prior are
databases at a rate of one sequence every two seconds, Wax says. The
problem is that some applications also claim any mixture of
oglionucleotides, or DNA/RNA fragments. Such applications, half-jokes
Wax, "might take longer to search than there is time left in the
universe," including time spent by examiners evaluating potential prior
art identified by the computer.

To address the pending crisis, the PTO is evaluating several options,
including raising examining fees for applications to patent DNA/RNA
sequences or forcing applicants to choose one sequence per
application, Wax says. The office also is investigating technological
solutions, including the use of government research supercomputers or
other local automation tools. The PTO soon will publish a notice
outlining several approaches to solving the problem, in addition to
soliciting other ideas, Wax added.

gordon