Gene Patents Research Articles

Growing prominence of deep-sea life in marine bioprospecting

AbstractMarine bioprospecting, which involves the exploration of genetic and biochemical material from marine organisms, can be used towards addressing a broad range of public and environmental health applications such as disease treatment, diagnostics and bioremediation. Marine genetic resources are important reservoirs for such bioprospecting efforts; however, the extent to which they are used commercially for natural product discovery and the marine sources from which they are derived are not well understood. Here we introduce a comprehensive database of marine genes referenced in patent filings, the Marine Bioprospecting Patent database. It includes 92,550 protein-coding sequences associated with 4,779 patent filings, identified by analysing all relevant records from genetic sequence databases. Three companies alone—BASF, IFF and DuPont—included sequences from 949 species (more than half of referenced species with identified marine origin). Microbial life in the deep sea, a vast and remote biome predominantly beyond national jurisdiction, is already attracting substantial economic interest; the top ten patent holders have all filed marine gene patents referencing sequences from deep-sea life. Our findings provide an updated understanding of the marine bioprospecting landscape, contribute to the sustainable use of marine biodiversity and underscore the need for policymakers to ensure stewardship of deep-sea ecosystems.

Patenting of agriculture biotechnology in Iraq: Widening the gap between the country's development needs and food security

AbstractIn Iraq, plants and biological processes for their production and plant varieties are patentable Under Order (81/2004) in Iraq and later its amendment Law (58/2015). This paper attempts to critically review patent rules related to agricultural biotechnology. It specifically questions the extent to which Iraq's developmental needs were considered when far‐reaching plant related patent protection was granted, The motivation for this study lies in its aim to examine the shift to restrictive exclusionary rights over plant genetic resources, and the implications this shift could have on sustainable agriculture and food security in the country, particularly Iraq lacks technological, institutional and financial capacities that can be directed towards the development of the biotechnology industry in the country.

In Support of Industry-Conscious Disclosure Standards for Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Patents

One of the fundamental requirements for a patent application is a disclosure of the invention via an accurate written description with sufficient detail to enable the recreation of the invention. The U.S. patent system has historically reviewed patent applications from various industries with a uniform set of requirements and standards. However, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries operate on notably extended product development timelines and face unique administrative pressures related to their products when compared with other industries. In response to these pressures, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have traditionally applied for patent protections through liberal use of genus claims and other strategies that allow for early and broad protection of groups of related products. However, three recent decisions by the Federal Circuit, and a subsequent appeal to the Supreme Court, have notably heightened patent disclosure requirements for technologies from these industries. This Comment discusses the Federal Circuit’s and Supreme Court’s decisions, compares these decisions to prior trends in the judiciary, and considers the potential impact of the decisions on the patent environment in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. In light of the decisions’ potential impact on these industries, this Comment argues that the federal judiciary should align the disclosure standard more closely to the requirements of the Patent Act while protecting the usefulness of genus claims for the pharmaceutical and related industries.

Genetic Patents and the Sustainable Development Goals

Genetic Patents and the Sustainable Development Goals

Top Ten Biotechnology Patent Cases of 2023: Antibodies Unenabled, Extrinsic Evidence Excluded, and Double Patenting Prohibited

Top Ten Biotechnology Patent Cases of 2023: Antibodies Unenabled, Extrinsic Evidence Excluded, and Double Patenting Prohibited

Granting Inventor Status to AI in Biotechnology Patents: A Regional Perspective of the Patent Laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Granting Inventor Status to AI in Biotechnology Patents: A Regional Perspective of the Patent Laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries

Measuring follow-on innovation

How patents affect follow-on innovation is a key question for the patent system. We disaggregate follow-on innovation into activities that infringe patents and others that do not infringe but can be indirectly affected by patents. Replicating an important study using our disaggregated measure, we find that 87 percent of follow-on scientific publications describing patented genes do not constitute patent infringement. Supplementing our empirical strategy with data on patent expiration dates, we find that gene patents which are not close to expiration cause an increase in noninfringing follow-on research, but the effect disappears for patents close to expiration. Our nuanced measure helps better identify the mechanisms of patents’ effect, reconcile disparate results in the literature, and evaluate policy reform.

International Tale on Gene Patents – between Medical and Legal Uncertainties

Esta obra se inspira en la crónica del litigio internacional de Myriad Genetics, que sigue siendo de actualidad en el discurso judicial y académico a pesar del tiempo transcurrido desde entonces. En él se examinan los enfoques de diversas jurisdicciones sobre el problema de las patentes de genes, así como de las patentes de pruebas de diagnóstico genético. El artículo examina las sentencias dictadas en Estados Unidos y Australia, así como las decisiones de la Oficina Europea de Patentes, y las sitúa en el contexto interdisciplinario de la ciencia genética. La cuestión es importante, tanto desde el punto de vista teórico como práctico. A pesar de la expiración de las patentes que constituyeron el objeto de los diversos pleitos de Myriad, el problema sigue siendo de actualidad. En primer lugar, porque las sentencias dictadas en los casos individuales no respondieron a todas las preguntas, sino que –en cierto modo– sólo prepararon el camino para futuras decisiones. En segundo lugar, debido a los nuevos avances científicos en el ámbito de la genética humana. En consecuencia, el ámbito del diagnóstico genético está en continuo desarrollo y en el futuro puede seguir revelando nuevos descubrimientos científicos y (posiblemente) invenciones. La falta de normas uniformes y transparentes en este ámbito y de límites bien definidos para los monopolios potenciales no sólo genera constantemente incertidumbre para los médicos y científicos, sino también desventajas reales para los pacientes.

Towards Better Balanced IPRs: Improving Access to Health through Better Access to Education

This is an excerpt from a larger work on biotechnology patents and access to healthcare looking to provide an alternative, rather indirect solution that might improve the whole IPRs environment and ease the longstanding strife between access to health and patent protection. This paper argues that increase of the overall standard in developing and least developed countries through provision of better education, in turn, supported by IPRs resources, can contribute to better access to healthcare and novel patented medicines. For this purpose, an analytical method is used going through various approaches to IPRs ranging from public-private interests, information and patents, individualism and IPRs as well as looking into the concept of knowledge economy. Human rights, albeit the common battleground, deserve their rightful place in this paper, however, they are not directly addressed to leave room for the other aspects mentioned. It concludes with the findings that IPRs contribution to education might be beneficial for both IPRs holders and the general society. This article derives from a doctoral dissertation “Biotechnology Patent Protection in the Information Era” to be defended in the spring term of 2022-2023 at the Istanbul Commerce University (Istanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi).

Assessment and valuation of technologies, development and application of Valorativo software

PurposeAlthough Public Research Institutions (PRIs) are large technology producers, they lack automated information tools that follow technical and scientific criteria for assessing and valuing patents. The assessment and valuation processes are stages of technology transfer (TT) that make it possible to obtain productive arrangements and guide the efforts of those involved in the development, maintenance and negotiation. This study aims to analyze the hybrid model of assessment and valuation of technologies by Soares (2018), applying the ‘Valorativo' software. In addition to patent value and indicator scores, the methods allow an understanding of the technology portfolio and its management.Design/methodology/approachThis research is quali-quantitative, following an approach of applied nature and descriptive objectives. The research has bibliographical, documental and case study features based on the software development methodologies described in the study and the theoretical framework.FindingsThe Valorativo software assisted in the analysis of ten patents on PRIs. With the data collection and patent analysis, PAT1 scored highest among engineering patents, PAT3 scored highest among pharmaceutical patents and PAT10 scored highest among biotechnology patents. Five of the assessed patents resulted in a surplus of net present value (NPV), final net present value (NPVF) and royalties; revenue expectations outpaced investments.Practical implicationsThe authors based the developed software on Soares’s (2018) methodology, with additional calculations and graphs. The Web software and the spreadsheet with Visual Basic for Application (VBA) were developed to deal with the patents assessment and valuation, helping in the analysis of their Legal Value, Technological Value and Market Conditions in the assessment process, and the Discounted Cash Flow and NPV in the valuation process.Originality/valueThe software helps with patent analysis and can generate indicators for traders, technology holders and researchers. Thus, it was necessary to understand and develop a theoretical-applied framework to outline and replicate the methodology clearly and easily.

Biotechnology Patent Law Top Ten of 2022: Inducement, Clear Error, and Interferences Galore

Five-year anniversaries are symbolized by a product of natural biotechnology: wood. This article marks the wood anniversary of the “Top Ten Biotechnology Patent Cases” series that began in 2018. Imagining the world in 2018 is challenging, in part because it was, indeed, a different world. There had not been a major pandemic in one hundred years. Inflation was low. The economy hummed along. No individual war appeared to threaten more than regional stability. O tempora, o mores! The year 2022 was quite different. SARS-CoV-2 continued to stalk the land, having had a monumentally mortiferous effect for several years. High inflation was rampant. The economy was still recovering from one of the deepest declines in history, with imbalances across many sectors. Moreover, eastern Europe had let slip the dogs of war, threatening peace worldwide. Biotechnology also has seen changes of significant magnitude. Venture capital investment in biotechnology was small compared to what it is now. Efficient genome editing was restricted to first-generation CRISPR-Cas9 systems, while now it may be accomplished using more powerful and accurate methods, like base editing and prime editing (the latter offering hope for treatment in almost 90% of genetic diseases). Courts had declared that diagnostic methods did not constitute patentable subject matter, which remains the case today, although clever draftswomen continue their efforts to obtain claims protecting such methods to some extent. Over the course of 2022, courts decided a generous selection of cases covering a wide variety of biotechnology patent law issues. These cases ran the gamut, from patent doctrines concerning satisfaction of the written description requirement for antibody claims to mechanisms for augmenting patent terms using either Patent Term Extension, or Patent Term Adjustment, or both. This article has chosen ten of the most important, though, as is the case every year, our choice of only ten was difficult, and, by necessity, left worthy cases on the cutting room floor.

The Impact of Gene Patent Decision and the Changing IP Strategies of Myriad Genetics

The Impact of Gene Patent Decision and the Changing IP Strategies of Myriad Genetics

Technological cooperation networks and patents in biotechnology: identification of conceptual bases

Objective of the study: This article seeks to explore from bibliometrics with factor analysis, the conceptual bases of the thematic networks of technological cooperation and patents in biotechnology.Methodology: We performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for quantitative analyses, using the BibExcel software and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (KMO) (SPSS software). The matrix of citations and quotations resulted in 86 articles, distributed in three factors, according to similarity analysis (Iramuteq software).Originality/relevance: The term “technological cooperation networks” is increasingly becoming widespread in academia and in the biotechnology sector. However, its concept comes from different theoretical fields, and in the literature, there is still a lack of convergence.Main results: The matrix of citations and quotations resulted in 86 articles, distributed in three factors, according to similarity analysis (Iramuteq software). The main contribution of the research was the identification of three converging factors, namely: 1) the central role of the biotechnology firm in articulating the knowledge, innovations, and technologies produced and disseminated in the technological cooperation networks; 2) the patent as a valuable resource that concentrates and highlights knowledge, innovations, and technological routes for the firm, its networks, and the industry; and 3) research conceived as a networked activity that promotes the intersection between science produced in universities, technologies conceived in firms, and the dissemination to industry and society of articles, patents, and innovations.Theoretical/methodological contributions: This study can contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge by identifying the converging factors of the conceptual field of technological cooperation networks in biotechnology.

Next

I draw these brief lines for a simple constructive criticism of the Next theme. The theme of Next interested me right away. Genetic experiments, transgenic animals, gene patents! Themes that are not only fashionable, but that completely match our current situation. It is the nearest future, a concern and also a dream of science. With this interest, I immediately got the book and some articles and put it in front of a line to read. I would have left it before.
 Next is actually a very diverse group of characters. It begins with a lawsuit from a firm that wants to use a man's special cells for cancer treatment. Then he talks about an orangutan who speaks and swears in Dutch. Then comes a parrot that does the math and a boy half chimpanzee, half human. In the midst of all this, many unscrupulous lawyers and researchers.
 There are experiments with gene therapy, with hypotheses about the maturity gene and many others. The lack of ethics in research is expressed in every page, in every subject, in every article and in every book. And it is so expressed that it fills one's patience. All researchers are failed nerds or unscrupulous capitalists. That wouldn't be a bad thing if the manuscripts were well developed. Scientists are almost always great villains like Moreau and even some geniuses who aren't scientists but are cool like Professor Moriarty.
 The problem is that no character has depth. They are all thrown in the middle of the story flying back and forth with no solid connection. Everything has very fragile and forced ties. And there are many, many of them, most of them for no reason to be there.
 The orangutan is a more direct example of this. It appears in the manuscripts, is talked about and commented on, but seems to have appeared for nothing, along with the characters connected to it. And so it goes on and the reader or researcher is waiting for everything to come together in the end. When the end comes, the plot comes together in an ending more pitiful than the end of a Brazilian telenovela season.
 In the end, this Next set seemed to me like a series of short stories whose parts were mixed together. Nothing more. But the cool thing was to see the surnames of some important researchers in the characters. Only. I definitely don't recommend it.1, 2, 3

Biotechnology Patent Law Top Ten Of 2020: Valeant Victorious, Falling Eagle, and Successful Slayback

This Article discusses the Top 10 BioTechnology Patent Cases of 2020. Suffice it to say that biotechnology patent law will continue to vigorously evolve, and we plan to continue our coverage of its evolution beyond the current trilogy of Biotechnology Patent Law Top Tens. As in previous years, we admit it was difficult to choose precisely ten top biotechnology patent law decisions. There are certainly others we did not include that warrant close attention for their reasonings, rules, and future implications. Nevertheless, both we and our readers can count, so we have done our best to select what we consider to be the top ten biotechnology patent law decisions of 2020. We discuss these decisions below.

EP277: Exploring the landscape of genetics patents in the United States from 2005 to 2020

Genetics research and innovation have historically faced many technical, legal, and ethical barriers. Although innovation within medical genetics is challenging to quantify, patent data offers a reasonable proxy, given that available diagnostic and therapeutic options generally have associated patents as protection for intellectual property. Here, we conduct an exploratory analysis of genetics-related patents in the United States granted between 2005 and 2020. By exploring the patent landscape, we aim to elucidate trends in genetic innovation that foreshadow updates to clinical practice.

Analysis of the Evolution of the Number of Biotechnology Patents in the Agribusiness Sector

HIGHLIGHTS Increase in the number of agribusiness biotechnology patents. Development of science, technology and innovation in the context of measuring economic growth. Increase in the number of patents and better results in agricultural productivity in the field.

PATENTS AND GENETIC ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES: A REVIEW OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Different classes of people have raised moral objections on a number of times against granting patents on living organisms. There has been a recent focus on patents partly because the corporate world is only concerned with economic returns and the market prospect of a genetic product. The purpose of this article is to revisit the debate on the patent of genetic engineering technologies and provide partial recommendations on rationalising patent protection while mitigating moral arguments. This article re-examines the intellectual property frameworks as well as case laws regarding biological materials in selected countries i.e., Europe, the United States of America, Australia, Malaysia, and under international agreements such as the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This article is based on primary as well as secondary materials that have been written on the patent of life forms and genetic research. There is an inconsistency between philosophical principles and the implementation of biotechnology patents due to the existing economic, political, and ideological conditions among countries, along with existing divergences in the field of genetically engineered technologies. Hence, during such circumstances, the most coherent position is to proceed with vigilance as it is not possible to shut down bio-industrialisation. One such vigilant pathway in the presence of contemporary evidence to minimise commercialisation of life science creations. Patents of genetically engineered products should be strictly monitored to fulfil commitment towards international human rights, which is to provide reasonably priced healthcare and medical treatment.

Filamentous fungal applications in biotechnology: a combined bibliometric and patentometric assessment

BackgroundProcesses and products employing filamentous fungi are increasing contributors to biotechnology. These organisms are used as cell factories for the synthesis of platform chemicals, enzymes, acids, foodstuffs and therapeutics. More recent applications include processing biomass into construction or textile materials. These exciting advances raise several interrelated questions regarding the contributions of filamentous fungi to biotechnology. For example, are advances in this discipline a major contributor compared to other organisms, e.g. plants or bacteria? From a geographical perspective, where is this work conducted? Which species are predominantly used? How do biotech companies actually use these organisms?ResultsTo glean a snapshot of the state of the discipline, literature (bibliometry) and patent (patentometry) outputs of filamentous fungal applications and the related fields were quantitatively surveyed. How these outputs vary across fungal species, industrial application(s), geographical locations and biotechnological companies were analysed. Results identified (i) fungi as crucial drivers for publications and patents in biotechnology, (ii) enzyme and organic acid production as the main applications, (iii) Aspergillus as the most commonly used genus by biotechnologists, (iv) China, the United States, Brazil, and Europe as the leaders in filamentous fungal science, and (v) the key players in industrial biotechnology.ConclusionsThis study generated a summary of the status of filamentous fungal applications in biotechnology. Both bibliometric and patentometric data have identified several key trends, breakthroughs and challenges faced by the fungal research community. The analysis suggests that the future is bright for filamentous fungal research worldwide.

Invented here but owned elsewhere: The widening gap between domestic and foreign patent ownership in Canada

Using Canadian-invented patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office during the period between 1995 and 2014, we investigate how ownership of Canadian inventions varies across time and by technology, geographic region, quality of invention, and the presence of superstar firms. Our findings show that the gap between Canadian-invented and Canadian-owned technologies has grown since 1995, and that an increasing number of Canadian-invented patents are owned by foreign, primarily US, firms. In terms of technical areas, Canadian-owned patents in biotechnology have declined and there has been sharp growth in both Canadian- and foreign-owned patents in information technology and telecom. Approximately 60% of Canadian-invented patents originate from Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, Vancouver, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (KCW), and Calgary. The quality of Canadian-invented patents increases over time, in part because the number of unassigned patents declines. The quality of foreign-owned patents is higher than the quality of Canadian-owned patents in all CMAs except KCW. At the firm level, while Blackberry and Nortel are responsible for a disproportionate number of Canadian-owned patents, the ownership of foreign-owned patents is more widely distributed. Our findings point to where Canadian innovation vulnerabilities are most severe, where they are worsening, and where there is cause for hope.