The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure was signed at Budapest on 28 April 1977. Authentic texts: English and French, a single original. It remained open for signature at Budapest until 31 December 1977. Depositary, once signature closed: the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The DONE formula is not transcribed. It was amended on 26 September 1980. It is not the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances for Ukraine.

Article 1 constitutes a Union for the international recognition of the deposit of microorganisms for patent procedure. Article 2 defines, as a principle, deposit, international depositary authority and industrial property office. Article 3: Contracting States that allow or require such a deposit recognise a deposit made with any international depositary authority, including the date and the fact that the sample is of the deposited microorganism. Laboratory, strain or sample-shipment regulations are not transcribed.

Articles 6–7 govern the status of an international depositary authority, notified to the Director General. Article 9 allows intergovernmental industrial property organisations (for example regional patent offices) to file a declaration. Article 15: States of the 1883 Paris Union may become party by signature followed by ratification or by accession. Article 16: entry into force three months after the fifth instrument; for WIPO, 19 August 1980. Denunciation after five years as a party, taking effect two years later (Art. 17).

The Assembly of the Union consists of the Contracting States (Art. 10); the International Bureau of WIPO provides the secretariat (Art. 11). The Regulations form an integral part (Art. 12). The Director General registers the Treaty with the United Nations Secretariat (Art. 19). The register source, WO/INF/12, is a secretariat note on parties, not the instrument; the working text is WIPO-LEX.

Cover: the Parliament on the Danube, Budapest, the city of signature; no claim is made to the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: Budapest Treaty; Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure.