To promote the Progress of … useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to … Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective … Discoveries.” This statement in our Constitution makes science the basis of our patent law. As such, it is important for the courts (and the lawyers that argue before the courts) to understand not only the law that they are applying, but the science that is being protected by that law. Of course, this is easier said than done in light of the pace at which technology is advancing.
The recent decision by the Supreme Court in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, and the legal history that led to the decision, highlight the importance of knowing and understanding what is being protected. Central to this article is the court’s understanding of exactly what constituted “isolated DNA,” since patents now claiming isolated DNA may no longer be patent eligible or claims reciting “isolated DNA” or similar terms may be invalid.
