Intellectual Property Section

This section provides a resource for lawyers who practice in intellectual property or have an interest in building an intellectual property practice. The practice areas of trademark, copyright, trade secret and patent law fall within this section.

Chair
Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel PC
605 Chestnut Street, Suite 1700
Chattanooga, TN 37450
(423)757-0206
Immediate Past Chair
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell...
211 Commerce St Ste 800
Nashville, TN 37201
(615)726-5594
Vice-Chair
Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens...
P.O. Box 171443
Memphis, TN 38187
(901)680-7333

Supreme Court Rules DNA Not Patentable

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled today that “naturally occurring” DNA segments cannot be patented, the Blog of the Legal Times reports. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for the court in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, which is considered by some a victory for civil liberties and consumer groups that argued corporations should not be able to lock up the uses of new DNA that could benefit patients if widely available. The Myriad patents at issue in the case were for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene segments which, when mutated, can increase the risk for breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad developed diagnostic tests from the segments that could reveal cancer risk in women.

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Patent Push Causes Debate on Legal Authority

The Obama administration announced a plan on Tuesday to lift the veil on patent ownership. As part of the plan, the president said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is drafting a rule that would require patent applicants to disclose who actually owns them. While proponents defend the action as falling within the scope of the executive rule-making authority, critics of the proposal have suggested the new disclosure rule may be an overreach. The Legal Blog of the Wall Street Journal has the story.

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