[author: Courtenay C. Brinckerhoff]
The Association for Molecular Pathology (represented by the ACLU) has filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, seeking review of the Federal Circuit’s August 16, 2012 decision that upheld the patent-eligibility of Myriad’s “isolated DNA” claims. The petition raises three questions for Supreme Court review:
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Are human genes patentable?
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Did the court of appeals err in upholding a method claim by Myriad that is irreconcilable with this Court’s ruling in Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289 (2012)?
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Did the court of appeals err in adopting a new and inflexible rule, contrary to normal standing rules and this Court’s decision in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 549 U.S. 118 (2007), that petitioners who have been indisputably deterred by Myriad’s “active enforcement” of its patent rights nonetheless lack standing to challenge those patents absent evidence that they have been personally threatened with an infringement action?
This petition will come as no surprise to those who have been following this case since the district court rendered the first decision on the merits in 2010. We should know by June whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari, but it could be a year or more before a final decision is rendered.
