Interference Declared over CRISPR-Cas9 for Eukaryotic Cells, Reigniting Patent War

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News reports, “The long, bitter legal wrangle over who invented CRISPR gene-editing technology is about to get even longer, now that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has decided to take up the issue of who invented CRISPR-Cas9 in eukaryotic cells. The PTAB has declared a patent interference between 10 separate U.S. Patent applications owned by the University of California (UC), the University of Vienna, and CRISPR pioneer Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD, director and scientific member at the Max Planck Institute of Infection Biology, Berlin—and 13 of the 15 patents held by the Broad Institute, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), plus one patent application.”

Referencing client The University of California, Berkeley, Director Eldora L. Ellison, Ph.D. is quoted in the coverage saying that the interference, “highlights that previous decisions involving the Broad did not determine who was the first to invent this technology, and it lays out a pathway for resolving this important issue” and “We are confident that the USPTO will ultimately recognize that the Doudna and Charpentier team hold the priority of invention specific to eukaryotic cells, as well as other settings covered by previous patents.”