Since 2010, the Patent Re-examination Board (PRB) has published the top 10 patent invalidation cases of the year in April of each year. The selection criteria are high social concern, significant impact on the related industry, or involve difficult legal issues and important examination criteria. Below is one of the top 10 cases that discusses what is considered allowable claim scope around sequences. It is well known that China has strict requirements when it comes to adequate written description and support in the specification. Chinese Patent Law Article 26(4) says that “all claims must be supported by the description and shall define the extent of the patent protection sought for…
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Can Post Filing Data Overcome Inventive Step in China?
Since 2010, the Patent Re-examination Board (PRB) has published the top 10 patent invalidation cases of the year in April of each year. The selection criteria are high social concern, significant impact on the related industry, or involve difficult legal issues and important examination criteria. Below is one of the top 10 cases that discusses post filing data in China patents. Post Filing Data in China Can post-filing data showing unexpected technical effect be used to overcome inventive step if the specification contains no data but asserts the unexpected technical effect? In short, the answer is no, post-filing data cannot be used to overcome inventive step even if the idea…
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Is it Sufficient to Claim an Antibody only by Describing its Antigen?
Things may be brewing with respect to antibody inventions. Just how much description is sufficient? After losing in the Federal Circuit, Amgen has decided to ask the US Supreme Court to weigh in on a standard that could vastly influence the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. The story relates to Repatha™, an LDL-lowering drug from Amgen whose active ingredient is a monoclonal antibody called evolocumab. The monoclonal antibody binds to PCSK9 protein, preventing it from destroying LDL receptor protein (LDL-R), a protein that removes LDL from the bloodstream. Amgen sued Sanofi, who created its own PCSK9 antibody. Sanofi sued back, arguing that Amgen’s patents were invalid for failing to comply with,…
