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The story continues to unfold regarding the patent eligibility of diagnostics, a story that first made headlines in the fall of 2013. Back then, the District Court for the Northern District of California issued an Order holding that medical diagnostic method claims are not eligible for patent protection (“The Sequenom Decision”).1 The decision was noteworthy, because it had been made upon remand and direction from the Federal Circuit to examine the patent eligibility of diagnostics in light of the Supreme Court’s now infamous Myriad and Mayo decisions.

In a case addressing specific personal jurisdiction arising from two Delaware court cases, the Federal Circuit affirmed the rulings of the lower courts, holding that the minimum–contacts requirement for specific personal jurisdiction was satisfied based on ANDA filings and a generic drug company’s plans to market its proposed drugs in a particular state. The clear implication of the decision is that specific personal jurisdiction can be found in any state where a drug will be marketed. Looking forward, any appeal to the Supreme Court will be of great interest to pharmaceutical patent litigants, as it comes following the Supreme Court’s holding in Daimler AG v. Bauman, 134 S. Ct. 746 (2014), where general personal jurisdiction required that the corporation’s contacts with a state be such that it is essentially “at home” in the state.

The decision involved two separate cases from the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, both involving Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.: Acorda Therapeutics Inc. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2015-1456 (Fed. Cir. March 18, 2016); and Astrazeneca AB v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., 2015-1460 (Fed. Cir. March 18, 2016).

This is the second article in a review of patents issued in 2015 in the area of Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC). The previous article covered FCC additives, and can be found HERE. The summary below covers seven patents relating to FCC catalysts and zeolites. Four of the seven, U.S. Patent No.’s 8,940,652, 8,951,498, 9,126,183, and 9,192,925, relate primarily to the preparation of the zeolite. Two others, U.S. Patent No.’s 8,993,469 and 9,056,308, relate to the overall catalyst. A seventh patent, U.S. Patent 9,175,230, relates to a catalyst having a particular combination of alumina’s. Three of the patents, U.S. Patent No.’s 8,940,652, 9,056,308, and 9,175,230 also recite limitations related to phosphorous. Finally, two of the patents, U.S. Patent No.’s 8,951,498 and 9,126,183, also relate to mesoporosity. Review of the collection of patents demonstrates that a substantial amount of research activity continues to be conducted in the area of catalysts and zeolites; in particular work focused on zeolite preparation for improving stability and mesoporosity.

Dr. Jonathan Schuchardt, partner at Dilworth IP, will be hosting a FREE webinar on Wednesday April 20th at 1:00 PM (EDT). This session, entitled Unexpected Results under Section 103 and the Federal Circuit will explore recent Federal Circuit cases focused on the quantity and quality of unexpected results that a patentee needs to prevail over in a patentability challenge. The webinar will also touch upon other secondary considerations of non-obviousness and consider the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in KSR v. Teleflex, particularly in the electromechanical arts.

As a scientist with a background in mechanical engineering and biomaterials, I am always interested in studying the latest developments and trends for new materials and am fascinated by the forefront of biotechnology. In this article I focus on the relatively young field of “Nanomedicine”. My goal is to provide a general overview on the state-of-the-art in this important and growing field and to give a brief introduction of the broad technology areas. In future articles I will feature representative prominent biotechnology companies and research institutes. As pointed out below, a large number of patents have already issued in this area. I also plan to discuss the progress in each subcategory, focusing on product commercialization, research and development, relevant patents, and law or regulatory policies in nanomedicine.

In an interesting case decided last week, the Federal Circuit ruled that it cannot address whether the US Patent and Trademark Office’s 2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility exceeds the scope of the Supreme Court’s decisions in this area.

Interference proceedings for disputed patents relating to the gene-editing technique CRISPR – which Nature recently called “the biggest biotechnology advance since the polymerase chain reaction (PCR),” — continued last week as the parties held an initial conference call with the three USPTO judges presiding over the case.

The following article originated from the CURE NewsAlert:

CURE testified March 8 at the State Capitol in Hartford re S.B. No. 313, An Act Concerning Biological Products, stating that the bill “is in the best interest of patients, the State’s thriving biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and the public at large.”

Dilworth IP is proud to be a sponsor of a young Connecticut inventor at this year’s National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Exposition’s (NICEE). Through the Connecticut Invention Convention, this program will send 30 young inventors from Connecticut to the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, VA to participate in the first-ever national competition for young inventors and entrepreneurs.

On October 26, 1881, Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, along with Doc Holliday met with Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborn, to engage in a form of conflict-resolution in a vacant lot off Fremont Street in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Sheriff Johnny Behan’s efforts at mediation were ultimately unsuccessful, and the rest is history. The dispute between the parties had been long-standing, and it is not clear that there was a defining moment that made the final confrontation a certainty. Such cannot be said of the Federal Circuit’s holding in Lexmark International, Inc., v. Impression Products, Inc., No. 2014-1617, 2014-1619 (Federal Circuit, February 12, 2016)(en banc). In this decision, the Federal Circuit has undoubtedly set the stage for the Supreme Court to resolve issues related to Patent Exhaustion.