United States patents and fungal cultures

Summary Fungal biotechnology has generated a voluminous amount of technical literature and scientific data. Patents probably contain the most complete and detailed information about the use of fungal cultures in biotechnology. This article contains a brief review of the United States patent system where microorganisms form an integral part of the disclosure and explains the role of the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) as a patent culture depository. A list based on the application of the ATCC fungal strains which have been cited or used in US patents and the names of the inventors, the titles of the inventions, and their patent numbers are included. This provides resource material particularly for developing countries as they begin to establish their own biotechnology.