[IP Hot Topics Podcast] Innovation Conversations: Walter Isaacson, Part 1
The dispute over who invented CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR), a gene-editing technology awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, has been one of the most closely watched legal battles in the world of biotechnology. For more than a...more
On May 12, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a decision in Regents of the Univ. of California v. Broad Inst., Inc.1 concerning the ongoing priority dispute relating to competing inventor groups for the CRISPR-Cas9 eukaryotic...more
On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) revived the Regents of the University of California’s (Regents) challenge to the Broad Institute’s CRISPR-Cas9 patents, overturning a 2022 decision by...more
On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a long-awaited decision in Regents of the University of California v. Broad Institute (Nos. 22-1594, 22-1653) addressing priority for disputed...more
Addressing the distinction between conception and reduction to practice and the requirement for written description in the unpredictable arts, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit explained that proof of conception...more
Key Takeaways: Federal Circuit Reopens CRISPR-Cas9 Priority Fight. The CAFC vacated the PTAB’s earlier ruling that UC lacked prior conception of CRISPR-Cas9 in eukaryotic cells, remanding the interference for reconsideration...more
USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on January 23, 2025, that it is reinstating its legacy notification procedure as of February 7, 2025, providing a streamlined alternative to permits for...more
Modern gene-editing technology, such as CRISPR/Cas technology, represents a ground-breaking advancement that has transformed our genetic engineering capabilities and has enormous potential for revolutionising medicine, food...more
On February 22, 2024, FDA released a final guidance detailing how foods derived from genome-edited plants fall into FDA’s existing food safety framework and outlining two voluntary consultation processes for developers. The...more
The European Parliament has adopted an amended European Commission proposal to regulate plants engineered using techniques such as CRISPR/Cas and ban any patenting of plants, plant parts, material, genetic information, or...more
Originally published in Genetic Engineering News on October 10, 2023. Reprinted with permission. The biotechnology sector has long been characterized by its constant innovation, rapid technological progress, and unyielding...more
China is considering new export restrictions on advanced technologies, including, in particular, in the life sciences sectors. In late December 2022, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the proposed amendment to...more
Complex, Customized CRISPR Combo Could Help Patients Cure Their Own Cancer - “In a small phase 1 clinical trial run by PACT Pharma, researchers edited the genes of 16 patients’ immune cells to work against their cancer,...more
Biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. filed an amicus curiae brief at the Federal Circuit in support of the appeal by Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the University of Vienna, and...more
Is the U.S. Finally Getting a Comprehensive Cybersecurity and Data Protection Law? What You Need to Know About the Proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act - In the beginning of the 2000s, as a result of the...more
Bye-Bye, Bitcoin: It's Time to Ban Cryptocurrencies - "International banking officials say cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are speculative assets, not sustainable, usable money." Why this is important: This opinion piece...more
On July 13, 2021, Prime Medicine, a Massachusetts biotech company developing next generation gene editing technology, emerged from stealth mode with $315 million in financing. The financing includes a $115 million Series A...more
Court Redirects Most Ring LLC Privacy Litigation Plaintiffs to Arbitration "In the complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that Ring’s security systems were defectively designed without sufficient security protocols, leaving...more
Humana Sued Over Wrongful Records Access Data Breach - "Louisville, Ky.-based Humana is being sued over a data breach last fall that exposed the personal information of about 65,000 of its health plan members, according...more
The giraffe is the tallest extant terrestrial animal, and its iconic long neck (6 feet) provides advantages for foraging for food and detecting predators on the veldt over long distances. As a consequence, however, the...more
After reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its 14th annual list of top patent stories. For 2020, we identified eight stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe...more
Welcome to Innovation Conversations, a special series of Sterne Kessler's IP Hot Topics podcast. I'm your series host, Trey Powers, a Director in Sterne Kessler's biotech and litigation practice groups. Joining me as a cohost...more
In this inaugural edition of the IP Hot Topics podcast, we kick off our Innovation Conversations series. We’re joined by renowned author, analyst, journalist, historian and Tulane University professor Walter Isaacson....more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) inventions have aided development in nearly every industry, but perhaps none more so than synthetic biology. For synthetic biology researchers, AI has developed into a vital tool to create cutting...more
20 years or five months? On March 8, 2019, nearly 20 years after AquaBounty Technology discovered a novel approach to increase the growth of Atlantic salmon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally “deactivated”...more