Innography Daily Digest

Drug patents: Pay-for-delay’s bad day in court
Los Angeles Times
The Supreme Court struck a blow for consumers Monday in a closely watched patent case, ruling that manufacturers of brand-name drugs don’t have the right to buy off generic-drug makers by giving them a share of their monopoly profits. The 5-3 ruling …

Apple’s ‘Rubber Banding’ patent valid: US Patent and Trademark Office
iTech Post
The patent war between Apple and Samsung goes on. This time Apple wins a round as the U.S. Patent and Trademark office validated the company’s “rubber banding” or bounce back patent, triggering a re-examination. The “rubber banding” patent, …

Patents: Obama declares war on the patent trolls
ElectronicsWeekly.com
The term patent troll is slang for a firm that buys up obvious patents that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) should never have granted in the first place. The troll then “asserts” these patents by threatening to sue businesses that infringe them.

Inventors from UAE fold away patents
The National
Three Emirati inventors have created folding mechanisms that will improve new generation of tablets and smartphones with flexible screens. Wasfi Alshdaifat, his wife Eida Almuhairbi, and Farah Qassab developed two designs and have taken the …

Gene Patents News

Editorial: Supreme Court wisdom on DNA
Chicago Tribune
That’s the foundation of our system of patents as well as copyrights. The principle is simple: Those who create something new should be allowed to profit from their creations. This compensates them for the unique value they have produced, while …

US Supreme Court Restricts Gene Patents…
IP Watch
… puts the US at odds with most other nations, which allow genes to be patented. But because other major nations grant narrower gene patents, the net effect of Myriad will be to shift the US position on gene patents closer to that of other nations.

US Supreme Court’s judgment on gene patents is neither ethical nor logical
Economic Times
Patents are reserved for inventions, not naturally occurring phenomena. On the other hand, the synthetic gene — in this case, a sequence of what is called “complementary DNA” (cDNA) that includes only those elements of the gene sequence that actually …

Myriad: End to Legal Battle over Patents – Analyst Blog
NASDAQ
While the apex court upheld Myriad’s patent claims on complementary DNA or cDNA, the other five claims from the company to cover isolated DNA were declared not eligible for patents by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Court, most of Myriad’s …

Patent trolls collect “nuisance fees” and political enemies
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Mason is one of thousands of U.S. businesses targeted each year by patent trolls, companies that invent nothing but buy patents from companies and individuals that do. Critics say the trolls then file multiple suits in hopes of collecting licensing …

The Next Battle in Apple and Samsung’s Patent War
Motley Fool
Before the dust has even settled on the last battle between Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) and Samsung, there’s a clear indication where the next …

Gene Patents News

Supreme Court Rejects Human Gene Patents in ‘Myriad’ Ruling

Law.com
The ruling invalidated controversial patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. on two genes whose mutations dramatically increase the risk of hereditary breast and …

Will Supreme Court’s take on gene patents help Myriad?
Los Angeles Times
While the Supreme Court’s decision to forbid patents on human genes knocked out Myriad Genetics’ long-guarded patent on two genes linked to breast cancer, the Utah-based company’s stock still rose soon after the news broke. That bit of investor …

Gene Patents: Justice Scalia Dissents On High School Science
Science 2.0
Myriad found these genes within the human genome, sequenced them, and obtained several patents that they used to prevent other companies from developing tests for the high-risk gene variants. This monopoly increased the cost of BRCA-based genetic …

Supreme Court Limits Patents on Human Genes
American University Intellectual Property Brief
BRCA1 The Supreme Court disallowed patents on human genes occurring naturally in the controversial Association of Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics case. The Court denied Myriad’s patents on isolated DNA in its unanimous decision on Thursday.

End of gene patents isn’t the end of innovation in biotech
Puget Sound Business Journal
“The U.S. is the only developed country, as far as biotech, that is no longer allowing patents for non-synthetic DNA,” said Chris Rivera, president of the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association. “It’s going to be an interesting outlook in …

High court ruling on gene patents lifts Myriad
Las Vegas Sun
Shares of diagnostic test maker Myriad Genetics Inc. are jumping Thursday after the Supreme Court issued a mixed ruling in a case involving the company’s patents on genes at the center of its tests for increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer …

Supreme Court: Companies cannot obtain patents for human genes …

Washington Times
The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled unanimously that human genes are “a product of nature” and companies cannot obtain patents on them — a major shift in …

Experts say court’s decision on human gene patents is a win-win
STLtoday.com
The Supreme Court ruling Thursday that naturally occurring human genes cannot be patented effectively ended the monopoly that Utah-based Myriad Genetics had on breast and ovarian cancer tests. The news was hailed as a victory by health advocates and …

This is why it matters that Angelina Jolie went public: SCOTUS bars gene patents
ChicagoNow
But sometimes the going public shapes our culture profoundly. Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision bars gene patents, and while no one can draw a straight line between Jolie’s public announcement about choosing a double mastectomy because of a gene …

Licensing

Anti-troll Legislation

Cornyn’s bill hopes to end abuses by patent trolls
Southeast Texas Record
Companies that exist only to buy technology patents and then sue other companies for infringement could see their actions limited if the federal government passes several pieces of legislation. Cornyn. The White House on June 4 stated it is actively …

Litigation

VIZIO Prevails in Patent Troll Case, Again
Sacramento Bee
IRVINE, Calif., June 11, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ — VIZIO announced the United States District Court of the Central District of California, Hon. Mariana Pfaelzer presiding, granted summary judgment of invalidity on a patent held by Lochner Technologies …

Licensing

ZTE inks patent licensing deal with Dolby for smartphones and tablets
Inquirer
CHINESE PHONE MAKER ZTE has signed a patent licensing deal with Dolby to use its audio technology in smartphones and tablets. ZTE has made a name for itself by making low-end Android smartphones that have been picked up by the Android modding …

WiLAN buys patent portfolio from Cypress Semiconductor
Ottawa Business Journal
Ottawa-based patent licensing company Wi-LAN Inc. (TSX:WIN) says it has acquired a portfolio of patents from California-based technology company Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:CY). Topics : Wi-LAN. Terms of the deal for the patents, which are …