What Good Is a Patent? Supreme Court May Suggest an Answer

摘要

Next month, the Supreme Court will hear two cases that could punch holes in a strong patent regime credited with fostering the remarkable growth of the U.S. biotechnology industry. Experts predict that the high court may rein in a specialized lower court that has shaped U.S. patent policies for the past 2 decades. At a minimum, the court's involvement reflects a world increasingly dependent on intellectual property. The two cases pose key questions about what can be patented and the force a granted patent should have in the marketplace. In Laboratory Corp. v. Metabolite, a case involving two makers of diagnostic blood tests, the high court will probe the limits of patenting basic scientific principles.