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On November 2, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued an important and forward-looking memo on Recent Subject Matter Eligibility Decisions for patent applications that offered guidance for drafting claims that may have previously been rendered ineligible under the two-step Alice test for determining patent eligibility. The USPTO signaled that this is a further step in a longer and more detailed conversation on patent subject matter eligibility (SME) that will continue in the near future. We expect this conversation to inform areas ranging from software and computer-implemented inventions to biotechnology.

Dr. Anthony Sabatelli of Dilworth IP will be presenting a talk at the University of Hartford entitled “Intellectual Property Basics for Entrepreneurs.” The event will be hosted by the University’s Computer Science Department on Thursday, November 17th from 12:15 to 1:15 pm in Dana Hall Room 318. In this informal, yet informative presentation, Dr. Sabatelli will cover basic topics of patent law of interest to both students and entrepreneurs. These topics will include: patentability, freedom-to-practice, subject matter eligibility (particularly for software and biotech developments), and a timeline of key patenting events.

Dr. Anthony Sabatelli of Dilworth IP will be presenting a talk on intellectual property basics at The Quinnipiac University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (QUCIE) in its new location at the School of Business. The event will be held on Tuesday, November 15th from 4:00 to 5:00 pm. Dr. Sabatelli will cover topics of patent law of interest to both students and entrepreneurs. These topics will include: patentability, freedom-to-practice, subject matter eligibility (particularly for software and biotech developments), and a timeline of key patenting events.

William Reid of Dilworth IP will be offering a FREE webinar on Wednesday, December 7th at 1:00 PM (EST). This installment in the Dilworth IP Webinar Series is entitled The IP Manager’s Playbook – Leveraging the Tools of the USPTO to Get Your Patents Granted Faster and Cheaper, and will provide in-house patent attorneys with strategies to get their patents granted faster and cheaper.

Dr. Jing Zhou, Technology Specialist at Dilworth IP will be joining a panel to discuss career paths in law for current Yale PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. The event will be hosted by the Yale Biomedical Careers Committee on Thursday, November 3rd from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at the Anlyan Center for Medical Research (TAC) in the Yale Medical School. Dr. Zhou will be joined by Dr. Dmitry Zuev of Cantor Colburn and Dr. Christina Rodrigo of Finnegan.

Dr. Anthony Sabatelli of Dilworth IP has been appointed to serve as Vice President and Director of the Nicholas & Viola Spinelli Foundation, a Connecticut-based philanthropic organization. A guiding principle of the Foundation is that “educating society is basic to its betterment.” As part of its charter, the Foundation provides college scholarships to area high school students wanting to pursue a career in the healthcare field. The foundation was established by the late Dr. Nicholas N.P. Spinelli and his sister, the late Viola J. Spinelli, both prominent players in shaping healthcare and medicine in the State. Dr. Spinelli was a practicing physician and later served as director of medical education at Bridgeport Hospital and also as alumni director at Yale’s School of Medicine. Ms. Spinelli was a former Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bridgeport Hospital. Regarding his appointment, Dr. Sabatelli said that “I am both honored and humbled to serve the Foundation to carry on the legacy and wishes of the Spinelli’s to support the higher education goals of deserving students.

Cancer immunotherapy or immuno-oncology (I-O) has gone mainstream. You may have heard about these topics in the media. Along with having surgery and radiation therapy, Former President Jimmy Carter was treated with the monoclonal antibody pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) that stimulated his immune system to fend or fight off melanoma that had metastasized to his brain. His remarkable response has highlighted the power of immunotherapy. After his son Beau succumbed to brain cancer, Vice President Joe Biden helped spearhead the Cancer Moonshot, a national initiative to cure cancer, one of the main goals of which is furthering immunotherapy research. The White House has dedicated $1 Billion to this initiative. This article will introduce you to immunotherapy and how it is now beginning to intersect with the microbiome. Recent patent filings suggest that intellectual property protection will be an important part of the research efforts in this field. Bolded patent documents are further summarized in the table at the end of this installment.

Dr. Anthony Sabatelli of Dilworth IP will be co-chairing the STEM Careers: Formulae and Solutions for Success event hosted by the Association of Yale Alumni (AYA) this Saturday, October 15th, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Loria Center in New Haven, CT. This event seeks to help Yale students with developing career paths by connecting them with a network of Yale alumni who have had success in the work force. The day will include sessions on interviews, networking, public speaking and time management, as well as more specialized sessions on Computer Science, Biotech, Engineering and Physical Science.

On September 13, the Federal Circuit held that a series of ordered combination of steps related to lip-synch software did not constitute an abstract idea, and was subsequently patent eligible under §101 (McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games America). This decision reversed and remanded an earlier decision issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California in McRO, Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC. This case, which was followed closely by the IT community, also has important, positive implications for the patent eligibility of biotech inventions.

Dr. Anthony Sabatelli, Partner at Dilworth IP, will be presenting a talk entitled “Patent Overview for the Life Sciences” at the SAPA-CT 3rd Annual Conference on Saturday, October 8th. The Sino-American Pharmaceutical Professionals Association (SAPA) was founded in 1993 as an independent and nonprofit organization seeking to bridge the U.S. and Chinese pharmaceutical worlds by providing training in drug research and development, creating a broad network, and hosting delegations from China. This year’s conference will be held at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale from 8:00 am to 6:30 PM.