General Biotechnology

Which Types of Bioinformatics Inventions Are Eligible for Patent Protection?

The field of bioinformatics is flourishing, and strong growth is only projected to continue. Like any cutting edge technology, bioinformatics requires an integrated IP strategy involving patent, trade secret, and copyright laws. The patent system in particular can be a powerful protection for commercializing bioinformatics inventions as long as a corresponding patent application meets certain patent law standards. Recently, the most rapidly evolving of these patent law standards—patent eligibility—came to a crescendo last year when the Supreme Court in Alice v. CLS Bank introduced a two-step test for determining whether computer-implemented inventions are patent-eligible. Since then, other courts and the USPTO have applied the test on inventions implemented on a computer and/or using the Internet with fact-dependent results. Here, we discuss how these decisions relate to bioinformatics inventions. We then analyze bioinformatics patents that have recently issued post-Alice. While the law remains relatively underdeveloped, it becomes clear that relying on a general purpose computer to perform routine or conventional steps in a claim will not infuse patent-eligibility into a claim. However, bioinformatics inventions remain patentable, especially when the patent prosecution team properly and persuasively presents the technical improvements and commercial embodiments.

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General Biotechnology

Improper Handling of Harmful Chemicals by Small Tea Growers of Assam: Challenge to Heath and Local Environment

After dominating the world tea market since last 170 years, today India became the fourth largest tea exporter. The state Assam, located in the Northeastern end of the country contributes almost 50% of the India’s total tea production and Small tea growers of Assam (STGs) produces around 30% of its total annual production and contributes almost 12% of India’s annual production. Though the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers by the STGs of Assam is still not recognized and controversial in the state, but it is observed that STGs of Assam hardly follows standard scientific techniques for handling such chemicals. Therefore, maintenance of sound health of STGs and environmental safety is a necessary issue. But, till date no such awareness program was found to be initiated scientifically to teach them about those safety measures. Therefore, there is a great need for immediate implementation of such kind of scientific solutions, basically for storing (micro level) of these harmful chemicals and also for grass root level safety campaign by scientific communities of India including other competent Agencies. 

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General Biotechnology

Early Commercial Assessments: An Innovative Tactic for Small Biotechs

As a small biotech company embarks on a drug development program, there is a tendency for management to focus on a well-defined set of issues. Is the science behind the drug valid? Does it solve an interesting problem or unmet need? What are the prospects that the medical community and patients will embrace it as a valuable new solution? And what is the range of indications the drug is conceived as addressing? These are all valid questions, but a small biotech can do even more to prepare itself for the drug development process, which is a journey that can take many years and cost a significant amount of money. 

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