Dr. Anthony Sabatelli, Partner at Dilworth IP, has been invited by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to present his perspectives on the USPTO’s recently issued guidance memorandum for determining subject matter eligibility of claims reciting or involving laws of nature, natural phenomena, and natural products.  The presentation will take place during a public forum this Friday, May 9th beginning at 1pm EDT.  A webcast of the event will be broadcasted.  Interested parties can view it by going to https://new.livestream.com/uspto/myriadforum.

This Guidance bears significant importance to the Biotech and Pharmaceutical industries and Dr. Sabatelli has previously written about both the guidance itself (see, How to Patent Grapefruit Juice: the New USPTO Guidance for Patent Eligible Subject Matter is Both Sticky and Sour) and some of the high-profile cases that have led up to the Guidance (see, Sequenom – A District Court’s Sequel to the Myriad Decision).  He also recently moderated a panel discussion of these issues at the Yale School of Medicine entitled The Myriad Decision — Impact on Entrepreneurship In Diagnostics and Customized Medicines.  This Friday, Dr. Sabatelli will be commenting on the necessity for a guidance, how the current guidance can be improved, and cautions to prevent its misapplication.

As a follow-up to his presentation at the USPTO, and because of the stated importance of this Guidance to Biotech and Pharmaceutical companies, Dr. Sabatelli will also be hosting a webinar entitled What is Patentable? Insight Into the New USPTO Guidance on Wednesday, May 21st from 1pm – 2pm EDT.  Those interested in hearing his insights and an update on the public forum can go here to learn more and register.