When the Australian High Court ruled against the
patentability of isolated naturally occurring genes in
the Myriad decision, a number of commentators believed that the
decision would ultimately invalidate claims directed to methods
involving the practical application of genes. A
recent Federal Court decision, however, has confirmed that
claims directed to methods involving the correlation of gene
sequences to a particular trait in cattle are patent eligible
subject matter in Australia.
Background
This case concerns an appeal of an unsuccessful Patent Office
opposition, by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited (MLA) and
Dairy Australia Limited against Australian patent application
20102022253 (the 253 Application), in the name of Branhaven LLC and
Cargill, Inc., directed to animal genomics and the genetic
improvement of livestock. The claims relate to methods of
identifying beneficial traits in cattle using gene sequence
analysis, and specifically the identification
