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ARTICLE · 12 APRIL 2016

Methods Exploiting Junk DNA May Be Useful But Lack Patent Eligibility

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Striking another blow against patent eligibility in the field of biotechnology, the Federal Circuit agreed with the district court that methods that use "junk DNA" to detect genetic variations lack patent eligibility under 35 USC § 101.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Courtenay Brinckerhoff
Courtenay Brinckerhoff
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Striking another blow against patent eligibility in the field of biotechnology, the Federal Circuit agreed with the district court that methods that use “junk DNA” to detect genetic variations lack patent eligibility under 35 USC § 101. Although Judge Dyk found the claims at issue to be similar to claims held invalid in other Federal Circuit decisions, the finding in Genetic Technologies Ltd. v. Merial LLC  seems to go one step further down the road of ineligibility.

The Patent At Issue

The patent at issue was GTG’s U.S. Patent No. 5,612,179. The court focused on claim 1:

1. A method for detection of at least one coding region allele of a multi-allelic genetic locus comprising:

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