Deposit for patent purposes
Deposits under the Budapest Treaty
Patent law requires the public disclosure of all relevant details pertaining to an invention.
Written descriptions and drawings are normally adequate and sufficient for the purpose of seeking patent protection, but this is not the case when the invention involves e.g. microorganisms. To rectify such cases, the deposit of the biological material within an officially recognized culture collection (IDA, International Depositary Authority) was deemed necessary for the patenting procedure.
This principle was endorsed in the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure).
From The Budapest Treaty Code of Practice for IDAs, 2nd Edition, 2018