Patent Baristas

The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled against Monsanto Co. stating that “Monsanto cannot prohibit the marketing in the EU of soy meal containing, in a residual state, a [patented] DNA sequence.” Therefore, the European patent for the trait that makes soybeans resistant to the company’s Roundup herbicide doesn’t extend to soy meal made […]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office put out a Request for Comments on Proposed Changes to Restriction Practice in Patent Applications. Summary: In situations in which two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in a single patent application, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) is authorized by the patent laws and […]

CNBC Originals goes inside the most profitable criminal enterprise in the world. An economy built on robbing U.S. businesses, costing American jobs, and bankrolling terrorism: Fake handbags, watches, and perfumes are a way of the past. The largest underground industry in the world, Counterfeit Goods bring in hundreds of billions, while sapping the economy, putting […]

The Supreme Court issued GVR Orders* on two important biotech cases: Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. v. Biogen IDEC et al. (08-1509) The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for further consideration in light of […]

MEMORANDUM DATE:            June 28, 2010 TO:                  Patent Examining Corps FROM:           Robert W. Bahr, Acting Associate Commissioner For Patent Examination Policy SUBJECT:     Supreme Court Decision in Bilski v. Kappos Today, the Supreme Court affirmed the USPTO’s decision that the claims in the patent application at issue in Bilski v. Kappos are not patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. […]

This morning, the Supreme Court issued its long awaited opinion in Bilski v. Kappos, a case which dealt with whether new processes were patentable only if they were performed with a specific machine, or resulted in a physical transformation of some article. In the run up to the decision, many commentators had predicted that the Court […]

The IRS has released guidelines for applying for the new Therapeutic Discovery Tax Credit! The tax credit targets projects that show significant potential to address unmet medical needs, produce new therapies, reduce the long-term increase of the cost of healthcare, and help cure cancer. Additional consideration will be given to projects that show the greatest […]

Duncan Bucknell, over at the IP ThinkTank, discusses FIFA’s response to the women arrested after wearing orange miniskirts bearing the Bavaria beer company logo to a recent match. Duncan posits that FIFA was not on good legal footing but has sold a lot of beer for their sponsor’s competitor. Barbara Castelein and Mirthe Nieuwpoort were […]