Patent watch: Progress in three key patent disputes in 2009.

摘要

In the past year, there have been notable developments in three long-running patent disputes, the outcomes of which could be broadly important for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and diagnostics patents in the United States.Probably one of the most watched cases in the past year was Bilski - so named after one of the inventors of the disputed patent. This case centres on the issue of patentability (BOX 1). The Bilski patent application was for a business method of hedging risk in the trading of commodities, but the outcome of this dispute might affect all patents. When the case was heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), they adopted