From clones to claims; the European Patent Office's case law on the patentability of biotechnolgy inventions

After the adopting of the EU Directive on the Patenting of Biotechnological inventions, the Enlarged Board has issued a landmark decision on how transgenic plants can be claimed in European patents. The author of this book represented Novarits in this challenging case. Nevertheless, there are exciting legal questions left that have not yet been addressed by the Appeal Boards of the EPO. How can transgenic animals be patented? How can DNA sequences determined in the course of the genome projects be patented? Is it really justified to ask Applicants on the basis of the adopted EU Directive for experimental evidence as regards the function of the encoded protein? How can research tools be patented satisfactorily? Is it possible to get useful reachthrough claims? To what extent is industry really interested in reachthrough protection? This book attemps to provide an overview of the jurisdiction of the EPO and the USPTO and courts for practitioners in the field of patenting biotech inventions. In view of its detailed content and insight into recent developments at the EPO and in the US, it is not only useful for beginners in the field but especially also for experience patent practitioners in industry and privat practice.