Cas-Cading Events In The IP Battle Over CRISPR Technologies

On 15 February the USPTO announced its long-awaited decision regarding the CRISPR patent interference proceedings between the University of California Berkley (UCB) and the Broad Institute of MIT. The decision closes the door on an important chapter of the increasingly bitter dispute over who owns the fundamental IP protecting CRISPR technologies. In short, despite filing after UCB, the Broad's US patents have been held not to interfere with UCB's patent application, mainly because the judiciary panel believed that the implementation of the CRISPR system into eukaryotic cells did involve an inventive step. It is generally accepted that the outcome will not prevent the UCB from securing patent protection themselves, and thus the decision does not really address the central issue of who ultimately controls the right to exploit the technology in the US.