United States Federal Circuit

Expressed sequence tags(EST) are unpatentable for lack of utility under 35 U.S.C. section 101 unless there is a known use for the genes from which each EST is transcribed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/07/2005
• Published 09/07/2005

Judges

• Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, RADER and BRYSON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Seth P. Waxman, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, of Washington, DC, argued for appellants.   With him on the brief were William F. Lee and Richard W. O'Neill, of Boston, Massachusetts;  and William G. McElwain and Henry N. Wixon, of Washington, DC., Stephen Walsh, Associate Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, of Arlington, Virginia, argued for the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office.   With him on the brief were John M. Whealan, Solicitor, and Thomas W. Krause, Associate Solicitor., Joseph A. Keyes, Jr., of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae Association of American Medical Colleges., Marc S. Gold, of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae National Academy of Sciences., Donald R. Stuart, of Indianapolis, Indiana, for amicus curiae Dow AgroSciences LLC. With him on the brief was Kenneth B. Ludwig., Paula K. Davis, of Indianapolis, Indiana, for amicus curiae Eli Lilly and Company.   With her on the brief were Steven P. Caltrider and James J. Kelley., Michael C. Schiffer, of Irvine, California, for amicus curiae Baxter Healthcare Corporation., Darrel C. Karl, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae American College of Medical Genetics., Jeffrey P. Kushan, Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, LLP, of Washington, DC, for amicus curiae Genentech, Inc. With him on the brief were Kathi A. Cover and David L. Fitzgerald., George C. Yu, of Emeryville, California, for amicus curiae Affymetrix, Inc.