September 2013 — The Federal Circuit Provides a Cautionary Tale for Preparing Inventor Declarations

In a recent case Novo Nordisk v. Caraco Pharma., the Federal Circuit provided useful guidance for the preparation of inventor declarations filed under 37 CFR § 1.132 and attorney arguments.  This case serves as a valuable reminder to always be forthright with information or data when working with the USPTO.  The following practices will help ensure compliance with your duty of honesty with the USPTO:  (1) don’t cherry pick data to obtain statistically significant synergistic results; (2) don’t omit parts of the test protocol or hide adverse test results; and (3) don’t overstate the significance of the results. 
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June 2013 — The Supreme Court Considers the Patentability of DNA Sequences

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Myriad narrowed the scope of patentable subject matter but confirmed patentability of some DNA sequences. Life sciences companies should carefully review their patent portfolios to determine the impact of this decision.
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May 2013 — To Conceive an Invention, the Idea Must be Operative

In Dawson v. Dawson and Bowman the Federal Circuit addressed the issue of conception of an invention and re-affirmed that the idea must be operative for conception to occur.
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