California Healthcare Institute Issues White Paper on Patent Reform Outlining Implications for Biotech Industry.LA JOLLA La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and , Calif. -- The California Healthcare Institute (CHI) today issued the white paper "Impact of Patent Law Changes on Biomedical bi·o·med·i·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to biomedicine. 2. Of, relating to, or involving biological, medical, and physical sciences. Investment and Innovation." The paper analyzes several recent developments related to patent law that could have serious implications to the biomedical industry in California and nationwide. These include: (1) recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that weaken patents; (2) patent reform legislation being considered by Congress; and (3) the hostile approach taken by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO USPTO abbr. United States Patent and Trademark Office ) toward making and promulgating new patent rules. "Life sciences research is extremely expensive, and attracting investment into companies developing the next generation of treatments, therapies, and technologies depends on a strong, reliable patent system," David L. Gollaher, Ph.D., CHI president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , said. "By producing this white paper we hope to call attention to a radical shift in U.S. public policy that will make patents harder to obtain, easier to invalidate, and cheaper to infringe." The paper outlines several recent Supreme Court cases related to patent law that create incalculable problems for the life sciences community in procuring and maintaining essential patent protections for their inventions. These include the May 2006 decision in eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.; the June 2006 decision in LabCorp v. Metabolite metabolite, organic compound that is a starting material in, an intermediate in, or an end product of metabolism. Starting materials are substances, usually small and of simple structure, absorbed by the organism as food. ; the January 2007 decision in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc.; and the most recent patent opinion, KSR 1. KSR - Keyboard Send Receive. 2. (company) KSR - Kendall Square Research. International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc. Several of the provisions that are included in recently introduced patent reform legislation (H.R. 1908/S. 1145, The Patent Reform Act of 2007) are analyzed in the paper including apportionment The process by which legislative seats are distributed among units entitled to representation; determination of the number of representatives that a state, county, or other subdivision may send to a legislative body. The U.S. , an open-ended post-grant opposition system, and expansive Patent and Trademark Office (PTO PTO abbr. 1. Parent Teacher Organization 2. or p.t.o. please turn over 3. power takeoff PTO or pto please turn over Noun 1. ) rule-making authority. The paper concludes that the net effect of all of these developments in patent law will reduce the value of patents and threatens a chilling effect on biomedical investment and innovation in California. The white paper "Impact of Patent Law Changes on Biomedical Investment and Innovation" is available at www.chi.org. CHI represents more than 250 leading biotechnology, medical device, diagnostics and pharmaceutical companies and public and private academic biomedical research organizations. CHI's mission is to advance responsible public policies that foster medical innovation and promote scientific discovery. |
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