Deposit of biological material and the differing national laws

By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D.

For patent applications in the biotechnology area, a biological material is sometimes essential for carrying out the invention. The biological material can be any material capable of reproducing itself or being reproduced in a biological system, including bacteria, fungi, algae, eukaryotic cells, cell lines, hybridomas, plasmids, viruses, and plant seeds. If the biological material cannot […]

Federal Circuit provides additional insight into § 101 eligibility

By Joseph M. Hallman

On February 8, 2021, in cxLoyalty, Inc. v. Maritz Holdings Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) dismissed-in-part, affirmed-in-part, and reversed-in-part a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) dealing with covered business method (“CBM”) review and subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This is […]

Mitigating Copyright Issues in Remote Learning

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Remote learning raises important questions related to how copyright protected materials can be used in an online learning environment. One of the more frequent myths that we hear is that copyright law does not apply to a situation because that situation is educational in nature. However, just because a use is educational in nature, does […]

A Blizzard and a Regulatory Freeze

By Cassie J. Edgar

For those in the Midwest today, I hope you are staying warm & are ready for the predicted snowfall and wind gusts currently in progress. There’s been a lot of news in recent months about agricultural biotechnology regulatory changes underway at various stages of public comment and implementation (7 CFR part 340, proposed EPA rules […]

Praised Patent Office Director Resigns

By Kirk M. Hartung

United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu resigned as director of the agency, receiving high praise from the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Thom Tillis (North Carolina).  Senator Tillis told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 19 that Iancu’s leadership was the “gold standard,” and that Iancu […]

Right to Repair: Infringement or Exhaustion Part 2

This post is part 2 of a series of posts relating to a person’s right to repair your purchased products. Part 1 discussed the general background and several policy arguments surrounding both sides of this issue. This post will discuss the main patent laws and legal doctrine related to the right to repair. The central […]

Charles P. Romano, Ph.D. Joins McKee, Voorhees & Sease, PLC

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MVS is excited to announce that Charles P. Romano, Ph.D. has joined MVS as a Senior Patent Agent. Charley, who is a registered patent agent, will bring over 30 years of biotech industry experience and doctorate in biochemistry to serve clients in the biotech industry and university sectors. “Charley has worked for Monsanto and in […]

Breakthrough in Protein Structure Prediction

By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D.

Knowing the three-dimensional structure of a particular protein is critical in determining its function and has implications for everything from treating human disease to herbicide resistant plants. Researchers currently use experimental techniques such as x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, or cryo-electron microscopy to establish the structure. However, these techniques are time consuming and can take […]

Celebrating Technology Transfer Professionals Day on December 12th

By Heidi Sease Nebel

Tomorrow we celebrate Technology Transfer Professionals Day and salute all those who work in helping our universities and research institutions in advancing their discoveries to a final product or service. These professionals are responsible for successful innovation management, corporate engagement, protecting and licensing inventions to companies, new venture creation and incubation, and economic development. This […]

World Trade Organization Considers IP Rights for Covid Vaccines      

By Kirk M. Hartung

Today, December 10, 2020, the World Trade Organization (WTO) meets in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss proposals that, if approved, would waive or block some worldwide intellectual property rights regarding Covid 19 vaccines. In October, India and South Africa raised this IP issue with WTO, arguing that in view of the pandemic, freeing the vaccines from […]