The legal meaning of the transition language “consisting essentially of” is well-established in Federal Circuit case law and is generally construed to mean that the composition or formulation (a) necessarily includes the listed ingredients and (b) is open to unlisted ingredients that do not materially affect the basic and novel properties of the composition. Similarly,
Detecting Disease Is Not a “Tangible and Useful Result” Eligible for Patenting
The federal appeals court with jurisdiction over questions of patent law has consistently held that methods of diagnosing a disease or other biological condition violate the Supreme Court’s ban on patenting “natural phenomena.” A recent decision reaffirmed this position (in the veterinary sphere), and for the first time in many years clearly articulated the test
Eliminate Medical Treatment Patents? An Effort Approaches the Supreme Court
Will the Supreme Court’s banning of methods of medical diagnosis from patenting in Mayo v. Prometheus be extended to patents for medical treatments? Since Mayo some have argued that some methods of medical treatment should also be banned from patenting. Up until recently these arguments have seemed futile, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for