The US Patent and Trademark Office is opening another patent interference proceeding in the CRISPR patent battle between the Broad Institute and the University of California and their partners, as GenomeWeb has reported.
The initial interference proceeding was initiated in January 2017 at the request of the University of California, though the ruling was ultimately in favor of the Broad, and was then upheld by United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. "In light of this exhaustive analysis and on this record, we conclude that substantial evidence supports the [Patent Trial and Appeal Board] finding that there was not a reasonable expectation of success, and the [PTAB] did not err in its determination that there is no interference-in-fact," the court wrote at the time. "We have considered UC's remaining arguments and find them unpersuasive."
USPTO itself has initiated this new proceeding, GenomeWeb says, adding that it will cover more than a dozen CRISPR-related patents awarded to the Broad and 10 awarded to UC.
"The initiation of this interference proceeding highlights that previous decisions involving the Broad did not determine who was the first to invent this technology, and it lays out a pathway for resolving this important issue," Eldora Ellison, a lawyer for the University of California, says in a statement to GW.
Additionally, according to Reuters, the Broad says it welcomes the action.