Case Law

District Court Finds Isolated DNA To Be Unpatentable Subject Matter 

The United States District Court of NY issued a decision, which invalidated seven patents related to the genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, whose mutations have been associated with cancer. The Court held that “DNA represents physical embodiment of biological information, distinct in its essential characteristics from any other chemical found in nature. It is concluded that DNA’s existence in a “isolated” form alter neither this fundamental quality of DNA as it exists in the body nor the information it encodes. Therefore, the patents at issue direct to “isolated DNA” containing sequences found in nature are unsustainable as a matter of law and are deemed unpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.”

(United District Court for the Southern District of New York, Association for Molecular Pathology et. Al. v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, et. Al., 09 Civ. 4515, march 29, 2010)

Read the decision

 

PROPERTY / INFORMED CONSENT / PATENT

Moore v. Regents of University of California, 51 Cal.3d 120, Supreme Court of California, July 9, 1990


PROPERTY / INFORMED CONSENT

Washington University v. William J. Catalona, M.D., United States Discrict Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, No. 4:03CV1065, E. Dist. Mo. April 14, 2006.

William J. Catalona, M.D. v. Washington University, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal, Nos. 06-2286 & 06-2301, June 20 2007


PROPERTY / INFORMED CONSENT / PATENT

Greenberg v. Miami Children’s Hospital Research Institute, United States District Court, S.D. Florida, Miami Division 264 Federal Supplement, 2d Series 1064; 2003 May 29


PATENT / BREAST CANCER

EUROPE (Myriad Genetics)

Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office, PATENTEE: The University of Utah Research Foundation, OPPONENTS: Institut Curie, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Institut Gustave Roussy-IGR, Vereniging van Stichtingen Klinische Genetica, et al., De Staat der Nederlanden, Greenpeace e.V., Case  n.: T 0666/05 – 3.3.04, 13 november 2008 (http://legal.european-patent-office.org/dg3/pdf/t050666eu1.pdf)

UNITED STATES (Myriad Genetics)

United District Court for the Southern District of New York, Association for Molecular Pathology et. Al. v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, et. Al., 09 Civ. 4515, 29 marzo 2010 (Decision)

United District Court for the Southern District of New York, Association for Molecular Pathology et. Al. v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, et. Al., 09 Civ. 4515, 1 november 2009 (http://www.bio.org/ip/documents/MTDdecision.pdf)

Memorandum in support of Myriad Genetics’ motion, filed on December 23 (http://www.genomicslawreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Myriad-Memo.pdf)

Memorandum in support of the PTO’s motion,  filed on December 24. (http://www.genomicslawreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/USPTO-Memo.pdf)

Plaintiffs’ Memorandum of law in support of motion for summary Judgment, filed in december 26. (http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/freespeech/brca_08262009_memoinsupportof_motionforsummjudge.pdf)

Brief for The United States Department of Justice as Amicus Curiae in Support of Neither Party, IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT (Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, in case no. 09-CV-4515, Senior Judge Robert W. Sweet)


PATENT

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, IN RE MAREK Z. KUBIN and RAYMOND G. GOODWIN,  2008-1184 (Serial No. 09/667,859) (http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions/08-1184.pdf)