Patent Law Practice Center

Canine Genetic Testing Patent Dispute Settled

On December 13, 2013, Genetic Veterinary Sciences, Inc. (d/b/a Paw Print Genetics) filed a declaratory judgment action against VetGen, LLC, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington (Spokane). The lawsuit sought a declaration that Paw Print Genetics was not infringing various claims of patents owned by VetGen. The complaint specifically sought a declaration of non-infringement with respect to U.S. Patent Nos. 6,040,143, 6,074,832, 6,767,707, 6,780,583, and 6,410,237. Each of these patents are titled DNA encoding canine von Willebrand factor and methods of use. In the alternative, Paw Print Genetics also sought a declaration that the claims of the patents are invalid. Both Paw Print Genetics and VetGen offer inherited disease testing to identify carriers and affected dogs for a variety of different canine genetic conditions.

In both dogs and humans, von Willebrand’s disease is a bleeding disorder of variable severity that results from a quantitative or qualitative defect in von Willebrand factor. This clotting factor has two known functions, stabilization of Factor VIII (hemophilic factor A) in the blood, and aiding the adhesion of platelets to the subendothelium, which allows them to provide hemostasis more effectively. If the factor is missing or defective, the patient, whether human or dog, may bleed severely. The disease is the most common hereditary bleeding disorder in both species, and is genetically and clinically heterogenous.

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Patent Docs: Impact of Advances in DNA Sequencing Technology on Genetic Diagnostic Testing

We are pleased to share the latest from our friends at PatentDocs.org, the Biotech and Pharma Patent Law and News Blog. The authors, Donald Zuhn and Kevin Noonan, are partners at McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff, LLP, and contribute to Patent Docs on a daily basis. Today’s post is entitled, “Impact of Advances in DNA Sequencing Technology on Genetic Diagnostic Testing”, and it discusses how because DNA sequencing soon may be within the reach of the consumer, the current patent protection (and the IP protection model underlying it) for genetic diagnostic testing may become obsolete.

Here is an excerpt: (more…)