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Tag Archives: Patent Eligibility

Federal Circuit Issues Fractured Affirmance In CLS Bank v. Alice Corporation

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Federal Circuit Decisions

In a fractured en banc decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that the claims at issue in CLS Bank v. Alice Corporation are invalid under 35 USC § 101. The multiple opinions reveal the judge’s fundamental differences as to the meaning and role of the statute, and the difficulty of applying Supreme Court precedent. The court’s inability to agree on even an appropriate framework for assessing patent-eligibility guarantees that this fundamental inquiry will be a murky area of law for the foreseeable future.

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Supreme Court Grants Cert In Myriad To Decide If Human Genes Can Be Patented

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Myriad; Supreme Court Decisions

On November 30, 2012, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the “ACLU/Myriad” gene patenting case (Association for Molecular Pathology v. Genetics, Inc.), guaranteeing that the debate over the patent-eligibility of human genes will continue for another round. The Court will review the August 16, 2012 Federal Circuit decision that held for the second time that Myriad’s claims directed to isolated DNA sequences satisfy 35 USC § 101.

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Myriad Marches Towards The Supreme Court (Again)

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Myriad; Prometheus; Supreme Court Decisions

The Association for Molecular Pathology (represented by the ACLU) has filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, seeking review of the Federal Circuit’s August 16, 2012 decision that upheld the patent-eligibility of Myriad’s “isolated DNA” claims. The petition raises three questions for Supreme Court review:

  1. Are human genes patentable?
  2. Did the court of appeals err in upholding a method claim by Myriad that is irreconcilable with this Court’s ruling in Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289 (2012)?
  3. Did the court of appeals err in adopting a new and inflexible rule, contrary to normal standing rules and this Court’s decision in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U.S. 118 (2007), that petitioners who have been indisputably deterred by Myriad’s “active enforcement” of its patent rights nonetheless lack standing to challenge those patents absent evidence that they have been personally threatened with an infringement action?

This petition will come as no surprise to those who have been following this case since the district court rendered the first decision on the merits in 2010. We should know by June whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, but it could be a year or more before a final decision is rendered.

Deja Vu All Over Again In Federal Circuit’s August 16 Myriad Decision

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Federal Circuit Decisions; Myriad; Personalized Medicine

On August 16, 2012, just four weeks after it heard oral arguments, the Federal Circuit issued its second decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (the ACLU ”gene patenting”/BRCAI case), which was on remand in view of the Supreme Court’s March 20, 2012 decision in Mayo v. Prometheus. The same three-judge panel heard the case on remand, and the judges reached essentially the same results on the interpretation of 35 USC § 101 as set forth in their July 29, 2011 decision. Thus, once again, Judge Lourie wrote the opinion for the court, Judge Moore concurred in the result, and Judge Bryson concurred in part and dissented in part.

All judges agree that at least one plaintiff has standing, that the diagnostic method claims based on “comparing” or “analyzing” DNA sequences are not patent-eligible, and that the drug screening method claim is patent-eligible. The court again held that all of the “isolated DNA” claims are patent-eligible, including those encompassing genomic DNA. Judge Bryson once again dissented with regard to the genomic DNA claims, but agreed with the majority that the cDNA claims satisfy 35 USC § 101.

While it is not surprising that the Federal Circuit reached the same conclusion in this decision, many will be relieved that they maintained the status quo as we move one step closer to final resolution of the issues by the Supreme Court.

For a more detailed review of the decision, please see this August 16, 2012 Foley & Lardner LLP Legal News Alert.

Non-Legal Perspectives On Isolated DNA: The Watson And Holman Amicus Briefs In The Myriad Remand

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Myriad

The most interesting briefs in the Federal Circuit remand of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (the ACLU “gene patenting”/BRCA1 case) may be those submitted by James D. Watson and Christopher M. Holman, which each present non-legal perspectives on the issues before the court.Continue reading this entry

The Myriad And ACLU Supplemental Briefs On Remand To The Federal Circuit

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Myriad; Personalized Medicine; Prometheus

Myriad and the ACLU filed their supplemental briefs in the remand of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (the ACLU “gene patenting”/BRCA1 case), addressing the Federal Circuit’s question as to the applicability of the Supreme Court’s decision in Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc. to the patent eligibility of Myriad’s isolated DNA claims and method claim 20 of Myriad’s U.S. Patent 5,747,282. While the parties’ positions are predictable, it is interesting to see how they frame the issues.Continue reading this entry

Smoke Signals or Smokescreen: The Ultramercial GVR

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Myriad; Prometheus; Supreme Court Decisions

After the Supreme Court decided that the personalized medicine method claims at issue in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. did not satisfy the patent eligibility requirements of 35 USC § 101, it was not surprising that the Court asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to take a second look at Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (the ACLU ”gene patenting”/BRCAI case). Although Myriad’s “isolated DNA” claims raise different patent eligibility issues than Prometheus’s method claims, both patents relate to technology that is applied in the medical diagnostic/therapeutic space.

It was more puzzling when the Supreme Court also asked the Federal Circuit to reconsider Ultramercial, LLC v. Hulu, LLC, where the claims at issue relate to methods of distributing copyrighted content over the internet. True, the patent eligibility of the Ultramercial claims is at issue, but how can the Supreme Court’s explication of the non-patent eligibility of natural phenomena impact the Federal Circuit’s decision that the Ultramercial methods were not disqualified from patenting as merely claiming abstract ideas?

See what I’m afraid all this could mean in my guest commentary for The Legal Pulse Blog of the Washington Legal Foundation.

Puzzled By Prometheus

Posted by Courtenay Brinckerhoff on Posted in 101; Prometheus

Last Wednesday I attended an excellent roundtable on Prometheus hosted by The George Washington University Law School and The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The roundtable was moderated by Hans Sauer of BIO and John M. Whealan of GW Law, and the panelists included The Honorable Paul R. Michel, intellectual property law professors, industry representatives, and practitioners (including my colleagues Hal Wegner and Andrew S. Baluch). While the program offered lots of food for thought, one point in particular (made by Daryl Joseffer of King & Spalding) had people talking during the reception.Continue reading this entry