The Controversial Myriad Case and Nanotech: Some Thoughts
The impact of the controversial Myriad gene patent litigation is not yet fully known, despite Friday’s Federal Circuit panel ruling which is being covered extensively in the general and legal media. Quite possibly, the full Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court will weigh in on the case, so we must wait and see for what the full impact will be. For now, however, in this most recent appellate decision, the Federal Circuit panel upheld the ability to consider isolated gene types of composition claims as potentially patentable subject matter. The Court rejected the notion that such claims were, per se, not eligible for patent protection. In forming its opinion, the Federal Circuit panel also recognized the settled property rights of the biotechnology industry formed over the past several decades. Other aspects of the opinion such as the Myriad method claims and the so-called Bilski test are beyond the scope of this short blog. Rather, this blog notes a nanotech angle to these controversies. Full Story
