Live and Let Die: Gene Patenting Plot Thickens as the Patent/Trade Secret Line is Blurred

The long battle in the American courts over Myriad Genetics’ patents of BRCA1 and BRCA2, the primary diagnostic genes for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer has been well-documented in the IPilogue (see coverage by Beatrice yesterday as well as previous posts here, here, and here). Now, Myriad is poised to defend their patents at the Supreme Court for a second time, with […]

Staying Abreast of an Isolating Issue: USSC to Rule on Patentability of Human Genes

On November 30, 2012 the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal in the case of Association for Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics Inc. In particular, the Court limited its grant of the appeal to the first question posed by the petitioners: “Are human genes patentable?”

Patenting Food - A Healthy Way Forward?

Obesity and chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, are on the rise.  To solve this crisis, we seem to be searching for the next super food, known as functional food, which will lower our blood sugar, reduce hypertension, and make us lose five pounds.

Japanese Scientists Crack Eggs-From-Stem-Cells Puzzle

Japanese scientists report they have, for the first time, grown mammalian eggs from stem cells and that these artificially created eggs were used to produce healthy offsprings. This advancement is being called the beginning of the end of the long search for the holy-grail of reproductive biology.

Patent Pending May Mean Patent No More - U.S. Government Introduces New Collaborative Forum for Reporting Evidence of Prior Art

One year after President Obama signed America’s patent reform bill into law, the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) has introduced a new way for third parties to file evidence and comments on patents currently pending approval by the USPTO.

U.S. Court of Appeals Stands Tall on the Subject of Gene Patents in the Wake of the Mayo v Prometheus Ruling

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in the case Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and ACLU v. USPTO and Myriad Genetics (Myriad), held in August that isolated genes are a patent-eligible subject matter. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior ruling on the matter, which was recently covered by IP Osgoode.

Avoiding Poison Apples and Tending to Blackberries: Did Canada’s 1989 Shift To First-To-File Nip Small-Time Innovation In the Bud?

New legal research from the University of Pennsylvania Law School suggests so. The aim of the study, according to Professors David S. Abrams and R. Polk Wagner, is to empirically predict how the recent changes to American patent laws, introduced by section 3 (s3) of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), will affect American innovation after […]

Software Becomes that Much Harder to Patent in the United States

In the recent decision of Bancorp Services v Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has attempted to reconcile the eligibility of software and business process patents with previous decisions from the United States Supreme Court. The holding also makes qualifying patent eligibility in business […]

Allergan Inc. c. Canada (Health), 2012 FC 767: Comity or Tragedy?

A somewhat confusing victory for Allergan Inc. was won on June 18th, as the Honourable Justice Hughes upheld their patent on COMBIGAN despite the fact that their invention was ruled to be obvious.  The Honourable Justice Hughes ruled in favour of Allergan by prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing a Notice of Compliance (NOC) […]

The Patentability of Gene Sequences: Myriad Genetics’ Day in the United States Supreme Court

In late March, The United States Supreme Court ordered the U.S Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit to reconsider Myriad Genetics’ existing patent on two genes associated with a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer, in light of the judgement rendered in Mayo Collaborative Services v Prometheus Labs (Prometheus). A unanimous Supreme Court […]