Home » Category: 'Patentability' (Page 3)

Patentability

I Heart... Everything? Google Patents Heart Gesture to Indicate Importance on Social Networks

I Heart... Everything? Google Patents Heart Gesture to Indicate Importance on Social Networks

On a crisp fall day, you notice the perfect maple leaf lying on the pavement. You know that you have to share this with the world, but how will you let others know how great this leaf is? After all, this leaf is awesome. In the near future, simply joining your hands in a heart […]

SickKids in Court - Are Public-Private Research Collaborations a Hindrance or a Driver of the Innovative Process?

SickKids in Court - Are Public-Private Research Collaborations a Hindrance or a Driver of the Innovative Process?

A recent lawsuit filed by Myriad Genetics involving the alleged infringement of their controversial breast cancer screening tool has included the prestigious Toronto SickKids hospital as a co-plaintiff. This lawsuit has been a source of criticism for the hospital and has reinvigorated the debate on the merits of public-private research collaborations in health care innovation.

Will Ultramercial Patent Set Up an Ultra Supreme Court Appeal?

Will Ultramercial Patent Set Up an Ultra Supreme Court Appeal?

In late June, the Federal Circuit again decided Ultramercial v Hulu - a case brought by Ultramercial claiming infringement of their patent for serving online media preceded by advertising. Ultramercial's patent has been widely criticized by many commentators who view the patent as one describing an abstract concept, and believe the decision is destined for a Supreme Court appeal.

CIPO Examination Practice Respecting Purposive Construction: A Marked Deviation From Whirlpool and Free World Trust

CIPO Examination Practice Respecting Purposive Construction: A Marked Deviation From Whirlpool and Free World Trust

On November 24, 2011, the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision for Amazon.com, Inc. v. The Commissioner of Patents, 2011 FCA 328.  This case related to patent application 2,246,933 filed by Amazon.com, Inc. entitled “Method and System For Placing A Purchase Order Via A Communications Network”. Popularly known as the “one-click shopping cart” case, […]

Isolated Genes Are None Of Your Business! – SCOTUS Decides Myriad

Isolated Genes Are None Of Your Business! – SCOTUS Decides Myriad

On June 13, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision which ruled against the patenting of isolated DNA sequences in their natural form in the now infamous case involving Myriad Genetics, Inc. and the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.  The decision represents a major milestone in the legal treatment of biotechnological inventions, and presents a number of relevant […]

Bowman v. Monsanto and Patent Exhaustion: To Be, or Ought to Be?

Bowman v. Monsanto and Patent Exhaustion: To Be, or Ought to Be?

More of a cautionary winter's tale than a midsummer night's dream, an Indiana farmer facing legal action from a certain biotech and chemical multinational behemoth recently reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is called Bowman v. Monsanto, and with all that hangs in the balance, a herbicide-resistant rose by any other name would, in […]

The ‘Myriad’ with the Golden ‘Gene’: Australia Upholds Breast Cancer Gene Patents

The ‘Myriad’ with the Golden ‘Gene’: Australia Upholds Breast Cancer Gene Patents

The Myriad Genetics gene patenting saga has officially shaped international jurisprudence, with the Federal Court of Australia upholding the patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2. In Cancer Voices Australia v. Myriad Genetics, NSD643/2010, Federal Court of Australia (Sydney), the first Australian case to deal with the issue of gene patents, the Court took a similarly liberal […]