Biotech company Myriad, which owns US patents covering the isolation and detection of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, won a second victory at the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last month. In the long-running dispute, parties including the Association for Molecular Pathology said Myriad's claims covered material ineligible for patent protection. But in August, the Federal Circuit once again reversed the district court's finding that Myriad's composition claims to isolated DNA molecules cover patent-ineligible products of nature. The court also overturned the ruling that Myriad's method claim for screening potential cancer therapeutics via changes in the cell growth rates of transformed cells is a patent-ineligible scientific principle. But it affirmed the district court's decision that Myriad's method claims for "comparing" or "analysing" DNA sequences are "abstract, mental steps" that cannot be patented. The Federal Circuit first ruled on the case in July last year and an appeal to the Supreme Court was subsequently filed. The case was returned to the Federal Circuit following the Supreme Court's decision in Mayo v Prometheus in March this year. The plaintiffs have said they are not satisfied with the decision and could appeal to the High Court a second time. Chinese patents to be expedited. China’s new priority examination system for patents went live on August 1. Applicants can now request speedier examination for inventions in fields including green technologies, new-generation information technology and high-end manufacturing. Patents filed in China before other countries or deemed in the national interest can also be fast-tracked. Applicants must file electronically and submit an application for prioritised patent examination endorsed by a provincial SIPO branch.
