October 2014

Looking Ahead

On October 6, 2014, the Federal Circuit heard oral arguments in University of Utah Research Foundation v. Ambry Genetics Corp., Nos. 14-1361, -1366.  This appeal involves a district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction for several asserted patents related to hereditary cancer tests.  The district court based its denial, in part, on a determination that Ambry Genetics Corp. had raised a substantial question as to whether the claims of several patents were patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101.  On appeal, the Federal Circuit may provide guidance for interpreting the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 133 S. Ct. 2107 (2013), and the “laws of nature” exception under 35 U.S.C. § 101 when addressing the denial of a preliminary injunction.

Read the full summary in a future edition of Last Month at the Federal Circuit.