[author: Kevin E. Noonan]
In a decision that should surprise no one, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari today in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. The grant was limited to the first question presented, whether human genes are patent-eligible, and the Court denied certiorari on the other two questions (thus letting stand the Federal Circuit's determination that screening methods using genetically transformed cells are patent-eligible under the Court's Mayo v. Prometheus precedent, and that a declaratory judgment plaintiff must cite actual injury to have standing).
The decision is unsurprising in view of the (relative) specificity of the question presented and the overwhelmingly one-sided nature of the amicus briefing (see "AMP v. Myriad Briefed and Distributed for Conference"). Later posts will discuss potential outcomes and stratagems for ensuring that the Court is fully informed on the facts rather than the rhetoric of gene patents. But one thing is certain: anyone with skin in this game who sits on the sidelines should be ashamed.
