Myriad: The Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision

June 18, 2013 | 2:00 p.m. ET | IPO Chat Channel Webinar

On June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad that cDNA molecules are eligible for patent protection, but that a sequence of DNA molecules isolated from their natural state is not. That finding of patent-ineligibility contradicts decades of USPTO practice and the long-standing expectation of the biotech industry.

Both sides declared partial victory in the case, and many uncertainties follow the long-awaited ruling. Our panel includes the litigator who represented Myriad in the Supreme Court, a respected biotech patent prosecutor, and the assistant general counsel at a large pharmaceutical company. They will consider such questions as:

• How many and which existing gene patents will be challenged in post-grant proceedings at the USPTO?
  
• Will holders of gene patents seek reissue?
  
• What does the decision mean for protein therapeutics, and other products that are arguably “found in nature”?
  
• Are claims to isolated polypeptide sequences covering human proteins that are in therapeutic use no longer valid?
  
• Where do comparative diagnostic claims stand after both Myriad and Prometheus?

Speakers:

• Gregory Castanias, Jones Day
  
• Kevin Noonan, McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP
  
• Paul Golian, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Sponsored by: Intellectual Property Owners Association

Register online at http://www.ipo.org/index.php/events/ip-chat-channel/