A Thousand Tiny Pieces: The Federal Circuit’s Fractured Myriad Ruling, Lessons to Be Learned, and the Way Forward

Abstract:     
The Supreme Court granted, vacated, and remanded the infamous Ass’n of Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (Myriad I), gene-isolation patentability case to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in light of the recent Prometheus decision, which held 9-0 that a certain diagnostic method was invalid subject matter because it was an abstract idea merely modified by other obvious steps. This Article argues that Myriad should be affirmed again by the Federal Circuit, particularly in light of Prometheus, in order to inject certainty, clarity, and consistency into the § 101 patentable subject matter jurisprudence.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 24

Keywords: Myriad, Genetics, Diagnostics, Patents, Subject-Matter, 101, Prometheus, GVR, FDA, Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Federal Circuit, AMP v. USPTO

Accepted Paper Series