Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Patents
  • Published:

The changing life science patent landscape

Nature Biotechnology volume 34, pages 292–294 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

What have we learned from 20 tumultuous years of patent law in the life sciences? Is patenting likely to be as important for the industry in the future?

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Heller, M.A. & Eisenberg, R.S. Science 280, 698–701 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Rai, A. Duke Law J. 61, 1237–1281 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cook-Deegan, R., Chandrasekharan, S. & Angrist, M. Nature 458, 405–406 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hemphill, C.S. & Sampat, B. Science 339, 1386–1387 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kapczynski, A. N. Engl. J. Med. 373, 201–203 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Novartis AG v. Union of India, Civil Appeal No. 2706–2716 (Supreme Court of India, 2013).

  7. Bessen, J. & Meurer, M. Patent Failure (Princeton Univ., 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  8. 132 S. Ct. 1289 (2012).

  9. 133 S. Ct. 2107 (2013).

  10. 788 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2015).

  11. 133 S. Ct. 2223 (2013).

  12. Merges, R.P. Berkeley Technol. Law J. 27, 1023–1046 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hemphill, T.P. Regulation 38, 6–8 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Rai, A.K. & Sherkow, J.S. Letter to US Senate Committee on the Judiciary Concerning Inter Partes Review and Orange Book-Listed Patents http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2623736 (June 18, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Eisenberg, R. & Crane, D. Mich. Telecomm. Tech. Law Rev. 21, 197–262 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Grabowski, H. et al. FDA Law J. 67, 373–391 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sharfstein, J. J. Am. Med. Assoc. 313, 667–668 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. FDA Fed. Regist. 79, 59776–59779 (2014).

  19. USPTO. Fed. Regist. 97, 74618–74633 (2014).

  20. DiMasi, J.A., Grabowski, H.G. & Hansen, R.W. Innovation in the pharmaceutical industry: new estimates of R&D costs http://csdd.tufts.edu/news/complete_story/cost_study_press_event_webcast (Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Boston, November 18, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Public Law No. 111–148, 124 Stat. 199 (2010).

  22. Price, W.N. II & Rai, A.K. Science 348, 188–189 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Cook-Deegan, R., Conley, J.M., Evans, J.P. & Vorhaus, D. Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 21, 585–588 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Micheel, C. M, Nass, S.J. & Omenn, G.S. (eds.) Evolution of Translational Omics: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward (Institute of Medicine, The National Academies Press, Washington, 2012).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  25. Brüstle v. Greenpeace eV, Opinion of Advocate General. Case C-34/10 (CJEU Mar. 10, 2011).

  26. Int'l Stem Cell Corp. v. Comptroller Gen. of Patents. Case C-364/13 (CJEU Dec. 18, 2014).

  27. 28 U.S.C. § 1498.

  28. Sherkow, J.S. Wash. Law Rev. 90, 205–269 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Reichman, J.H. J. Law Med. Ethics 37, 247–263 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arti K. Rai is at the Center for Innovation Policy, Duke University School of Law, Durham, North Carolina, USA,

    Arti K Rai

  2. Jacob S. Sherkow is at the Innovation Center for Law and Technology, New York Law School, New York, New York, USA.,

    Jacob S Sherkow

Authors
  1. Arti K Rai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jacob S Sherkow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Arti K Rai or Jacob S Sherkow.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rai, A., Sherkow, J. The changing life science patent landscape. Nat Biotechnol 34, 292–294 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3504

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3504

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Translational Research

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology, drug discovery and pharma.

Get what matters in translational research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Translational Research