November 03, 2005

Supreme Court to Look at What can be Patented

The Supreme Court will hear the case of Laboratory Corp. of America (LabCorp) v. Metabolite Laboratories. The specific patent being questioned is US 4,940,658 (July 10, 1990), titled Assay for sulfhydryl amino acids and methods for detecting and distinguishing cobalamin and folic acid deficency.

Method for determining levels of sulfhydryl amino acids, particularly total homocysteine levels in samples of body tissue from warm-blooded animals, methods of detecting cobalamin and folic acid deficiency using an assay for total homocysteine levels, and methods for distinguishing cobalamin from folic acid deficiency using an assay for total homocysteine levels in conjunction with an assay for methylmalonic acid.

Depending on how the Supreme Court resolves this case, it may have substantial implications for the patentability of business methods and even of software. See this blog for more information and a legal perspective of what could happen.

Categories

Applied Sciences Biological Sciences Intellectual Property Medicine & Healthcare Patents