The smartphone patent wars reached a fever pitch with a record $1.05 billion jury verdict for Apple Inc. against Samsung Electronics Co. in August in the Northern District of California. Then, on December 18, Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple’s bid for permanent injunctions against 26 Samsung products. She applied a heightened standard established by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that requires patent-holders to show a direct link between lost market-share and a specific infringing feature of a competitor’s product.
GENE PATENTS
In November, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case about whether human genes can be patented. At issue is Myriad Genetics Inc.’s patent claims for isolated human “BRCA” genes. Their mutations are associated with breast and ovarian cancers. The Federal Circuit has already said yes to the gene question twice. The split decisions also held that Myriad’s method claims for “comparing” or “analyzing” DNA sequences are not patentable. “It’s wrong to think that something as naturally occurring as DNA can be patented by a single company,” said Chris Hansen, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, who argued for the plaintiffs both times.
