Oppositions have started to be filed against the EU/Cas-9 gene editing system in Europe, following the grant of a patent to the Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard College on 11 February 2015, with nine parties registering their opposition, initiating a process that is expected to take at least five years to resolve. The legal fight over rights to EU/Cas-9 is murky globally, with the University of California taking on the Broad Institute in a 'patent interference' lawsuit with the US Patent and Trade Office, in a "winner takes all" style proceeding. More US and CRISPR patent applications are being processed, with a host of claimants looking for a slice of a potentially hugely lucrative technology, already in use in many drug pipelines and research institutions. One aspect to note is the pace of change in the gene-editing sector is so high that by the time the patent disputes are resolved, the industry may have moved on to the next latest and greatest technology.
Oppositions have started to be filed against the CRISPR/Cas-9 gene editing system in Europe, following the grant of a patent to the Broad Institute, MIT and Harvard College on 11 February 2015, with nine parties registering their opposition, initiating a process that is expected to take at least five years to resolve. The legal fight over rights to CRISPR/Cas-9 is murky globally, with the University of California taking on the Broad Institute in a 'patent interference' lawsuit with the US Patent and Trade Office, in a "winner takes all" style proceeding. More US and EU patent applications are being processed, with a host of claimants looking for a slice of a potentially hugely lucrative technology, already in use in many drug pipelines and research institutions. One aspect to note is the pace of change in the gene-editing sector is so high that by the time the patent disputes are resolved, the industry may have moved on to the next latest and greatest technology.