Prometheus And Natural Phenomena

2008-1403 Prometheus Lab v Mayo CollaborativeSD/CA 04-CV-1200Judge John A. Houston A fairly-well publicized case involving medical testing, Bilski, and "natural phenomena."  Our earlier write-up is here.  A representative claim from one of the patents covers: 1. A method of optimizing therapeutic efficacy for treatment of an immune mediated gastrointestinal disorder, comprising: (a) administering a drug [...]

Prometheus Unbound: Patents Invalid For Claiming Natural Phenomena

2008-1403 Prometheus Labs v. Mayo Collabrative SD/CA 04-cv-1200Judge John Houston Patentee Prometheus appeals from Judge John Houston’s order on summary judgment finding that the patents-in-suit are invalid under § 101 for claiming unpatentable subject matter, specifically "natural phenomena." Prometheus is the exclusive licensee of 6,355,623 and 6,680,302 directed to testing levels of certain metabolites in [...]