Patenting Antibodies: Written Description Considerations in Antibody Patents

Written description under 35 U.S.C. §112 is a primary battleground for antibody patent disputes. Small molecule compounds with a small change in structure may possess very different properties, while antibodies with varying amino acid sequences may possess similar binding properties. Claims to a genus of amino acid sequences may not fully cover the essence of the invention, but claims to their functional properties may. So, patent applicants often employ functional claims to cover antibody inventions. This article will discuss several cases relating to antibody claims, in particular, functional antibody claims.

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*Stacy Lewis is a law clerk at Finnegan.