Attorney Says Roberts Tough to Predict in Prometheus Case

The Prometheus v. Mayo case was argued at the U.S. Supreme Court earlier in December, and while many of the justices’ questions seemed to reflect positions they were expected to hold, Chief Justice John Roberts asked questions that have prompted at least one patent attorney to speculate that Roberts might find the technology being litigated ineligible for patent protection, which would have a detrimental impact on the future of patents related to diagnostics and personalized medicine. Finnegan partner Denise DeFranco stated if the Court reversed the Federal Circuit, the outcome “could have major implications,” adding, “if they say this claim is invalid, no matter how narrowly they state that, there are a lot of claims like this one” that would be affected