Aug 3, 2005
Chene Follow U
Apparently, the recent patent using the non-word “chene“, I mentioned last week is older than my original source suggested. More to the point, says UCSF’s John Irwin on CHMINF-L, the patent examiners failed to recognize a whole tranche of prior art from Daylight, MDL, Tripos, and Acelrys, among others. The patent will be invalidated, he adds. Irwin also suggests that we, “Spare a thought for overworked USPTO examiners.”
So, chenomics may not emerge in the way the Japanese patent application hoped. But, watch out next week for yet another patent on a gene, this time by a Canadian company exploiting US university research…can’t say any more for now…
