Adoption of Updated WIPO Standard ST.26; Revision to Incorporation by Reference

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is adopting version 1.7 of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standard ST.26, which was approved December 8, 2023, for incorporation by reference into the USPTO's regulations addressing application disclosures containing nucleotide and/or amino acid sequences. Among other enhancements, version 1.7 of ST.26 provides technical terminology consistency and improves descriptions. The USPTO first amended its rules in 2022 to incorporate by reference certain provisions of WIPO Standard ST.26. In addition to simplifying the process for applicants filing in multiple countries, the ST.26 requirement to submit a single sequence listing in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format provides better preservation, accessibility, and sorting of the submitted sequence data for the public.