Current topics in biotechnology patent law: The written description requirement

Abstract

Universities and medical research institutions are as interested in securing patent protection for their biotechnological inventions as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Obtaining adequate patent protection by universities and research institutions has been hampered by the 'embryonic' nature of its inventions. This problem is particularly noticeable in the fields of biotechnology and molecular medicine. This paper focuses on recent court cases in US biotechnology patent law and analyses the effects of the legal decisions on the effort by universities and research institutions to secure meaningful legal protection for biotechnological inventions.