McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP partner Dr. Kevin E. Noonan authored an article entitled, “Patent Docs: District Court decision raises concerns regarding patent protection for diagnostic methods” that appears in the March 2014 online edition of DDNEWS. The Supreme Court’s Mayo v. Prometheus decision in 2012 signaled renewed concern by the court regarding claims to diagnostic methods, including that patents on such methods could impede the ability of doctors to practice medicine. Whether justified or not, the court’s rationale has (as expected) begun to be translated into decisions at the trial court level. In particular, the decision by Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California in Ariosa Diagnostics v. Sequenom to grant summary judgment of invalidity against the patentee warrants consideration for its effects, if upheld, on the viability of diagnostic method patents. View the article