Patent Baristas

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled against Myriad Genetics saying that the company cannot patent natural DNA.  Association for Molecular Pathology et al., v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al.  (SCt 12-398_8njq; No. 12–398, June 13, 2013). The District Court concluded that Myriad’s claims were invalid because they covered products of nature. The Federal Circuit […]

As you know, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Mayo v. Prometheus, an important intellectual property case for biotech.  The Court held that the correlation between blood test results and patient health is not patentable. Under Prometheus, new patents involving correlations between natural phenomena must do more than simply recite the natural correlation and then […]

In the on-going saga of the patentability of correlations between blood test results and patient health, Prometheus Laboratories submitted its brief to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The Court granted cert for the second time in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc, Supreme Court No. 10-1150, to consider whether to set limits on when inventors […]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Stanford University can’t win its patent infringement case against Roche Molecular Systems because Roche holds an ownership interest in the patents. Board of Trustees of The Leland Stanford Junior University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., et al., Supreme Court of the United States, 563 U. S. ____ (2011). […]

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 […]

The Supreme Court finally heard oral hearings in the Bilski v. Doll case.  Here, the Court was asked to consider whether the Federal Circuit erred by holding that a “process” must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or transform a particular article into a different state or thing (“machine-or-transformation” test), to be eligible […]

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to take up the In re Bilski case.  The Court will review a decision in a patent case which questions what things are patentable, including software and business strategies.  The applicants have filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court to appeal from the U.S. Court […]

In a follow-up on our earlier discussion regarding the Supreme Court’s broad scope of the research exemption to the Integra case, the question came up asking if a patented delivery formulation — say, a sustained release formulation as opposed to a therapeutic itself — would fall within the exemption from infringement under the Food and […]