Return to Previous Press Release
Enter your name and a friend's email address in the fields below and click "Submit" to email this Press Release to a friend.
Your message will look like this:
[YOUR NAME HERE] thought you might be interested in this story from the University of Rochester.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Kraus robert.kraus@rochester.edu
585.267.4060 or Teri D' Agostino 585.275.3676
November 29, 2004
The Supreme Court has declined to review a federal appeals court’s decision on a University patent involving the discovery of a separate cox-2 gene and related biological processes.
The University had petitioned the Court to hear the case after a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court, in February, upheld a lower court ruling that declared the University’s patent invalid on the grounds that it did not provide sufficient information to meet what the court described as a “written description” requirement. In July, the federal appeals court had denied, on a 7 to 5 vote, a request by the University for a hearing by the full panel of judges.
“We are, of course, very disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision,” said President Thomas H. Jackson. “The lower court decision invalidating the University’s patent represents a fundamental shift in patent law, changing the balance between protection of basic research and protection of commercial products. The decision was detrimental not just to us, but to research initiatives at universities and innovative companies that concentrate on early stage research.”
While the fact was uncontested that the University’s discovery of a gene and biological process enabled companies to create new drugs, the federal appeals court in effect imposed a second hurdle for such patents by saying that the Rochester patent was invalid because it did not include the precise chemical formula for such a compound.
The University is not anticipating any further legal steps at this time, Jackson said.
Note to Editors: More detail on the Cox-2 case can be found at www.rochester.edu/news/cox-2.The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
PR 1958, MS 398