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The Supreme Court will hear six patent cases during the current 2013-14 term that began on October 7th of last year. This is an extraordinary number of patent cases, considering that the Court is scheduled to hear just 70 cases during this term, and that these 70 cases were selected from over 10,000 petitions for hearings (called writs of certiorari). In contrast, just three patent cases were heard during each of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 terms, and only two patent cases during the 2012-13 term.

The numbers are in for 2013. During the past year the US Food and Drug Administration approved 27 new drugs. This compares with a record 39 approvals for 2012 and 30 for 2011. But what does this mean? What’s in store for 2014?

Federal Circuit Decision will not Interfere with Interference
On November 5, 2013 the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down a decision in Sanofi-Aventis v. Pfizer Inc., 108 USPQ2d 1741. The decision is of interest because it had the potential to directly deal with the question of the patentability of biomolecules such as DNA and drug targets. However, the Court prudently exercised restraint in not doing so.

Are diagnostic claims now at risk?

On October 30, 2013 the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an Order holding that medical diagnostic method claims are not eligible for patent protection. See Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc., Case No. C 11-06391 SI. This District Court Order is significant because it was made upon remand and direction from the Federal Circuit to examine the subject matter eligibility of diagnostic patent claims in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.,133 S. Ct. 2107 (2013). However, the District Court decision is also potentially concerning because it raises the specter of whether lower courts will now feel compelled to issue rulings on important patent questions that are still evolving at the Supreme Court level. Some might even argue that these patent questions deal with important public policy issues that should more appropriately be addressed by the legislative branch and the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Dilworth IP’s half-day symposium at NERM 2013 is just two weeks away! The Firm has been invited to organize the event for the Northeast Regional Meeting (NERM) of the American Chemical Society at the Omni Hotel in New Haven on October 23rd. We are very excited to be a part of this large gathering of scientists and engineers.

Our speakers, accomplished IP practitioners with diverse experience and backgrounds including industry, academia, and private practice, will be presenting eight short talks on Intellectual Property Fundamentals: What Everyone in R&D Must Know. These talks include such topics as How to Read a Patent, Aligning Your IP Strategy with Your Business Strategy, and Copyright Issues to Consider When Publishing. The symposium will be a great source of practical IP knowledge for business managers, scientists, or anyone involved in research and development.

Dilworth IP will host a half-day symposium on intellectual property law at the Northeast Regional Meeting (NERM) of the American Chemical Society at the Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT on October 23, 2013. Intellectual Property Fundamentals: What Everyone in R&D Must Know will feature short presentations designed to give scientists, engineers, business managers, and other R&D professionals practical knowledge on key aspects of IP law.

Welcome! We are excited to announce the launch of our new website and the new look of Dilworth IP. Please explore the site freely. We encourage you to pay particular attention to the bio pages of the talented individuals who provide world-class IP services to our clients.