En banc CAFC affirms written description; Ariad loses
Ariad, MIT, Whitehead, and Harvard lost. The CAFC decision evokes URochester v. Searle: Ariad brought suit against Lilly on June 25, 2002, the day the ’516 patent issued. AND one finds URochester mentioned:
see LizardTech, Inc. v. Earth Res. Mapping, Inc., 433 F.3d 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (denying rehearing en banc on the question whether a separate written description requirement exists in § 112, first paragraph); Univ. of Rochester v. G.D. Searle & Co., Inc., 375 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (same);
Of course, URochester cited Festo for the presence of an independent written descripton requirement, a fact noted in Ariad: more recently in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722, 736 (2002).
Also of note:
As in any case involving statutory interpretation, we begin with the language of the statute itself. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm’n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 108 (1980).
(..)
See United States v. Menasche, 348 U.S. 528, 538-39 (1955) (“It is our duty ‘to give effect, if possible, to every clause and word of a statute.” (quoting Montclair v. Ramsdell, 107 U.S. 147, 152 (1883)).
(...)
We have also held that functional claim language can meet the written description requirement when the art has established a correlation between structure and function. See Enzo, 323 F.3d at 964 (quoting 66 Fed. Reg. 1099 (Jan. 5, 2001)). But merely drawing a fence around the outer limits of a purported genus is not an adequate substitute for describing a variety of materials constituting the genus and showing that one has invented a genus and not just a species.
(...)
But the hallmark of written description is disclosure. Thus, “possession as shown in the disclosure” is a more complete formulation. Yet whatever the specific articulation, the test requires an objective inquiry into the four corners of the specification from the perspective of a person of ordinary skill in the art. Based on that inquiry, the specification must describe an invention understandable to that skilled artisan and show that the inventor actually invented the invention claimed.
**The CAFC sent a message to universities -->
Ariad complains that the doctrine disadvantages universities to the extent that basic research cannot be patented. But the patent law has always been directed to the “useful Arts,” U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8, meaning inventions with a practical use, see Brenner v. Manson, 383 U.S. 519, 532-36 (1966). Much university research relates to basic research, including research into scientific principles and mechanisms of action, see, e.g., Rochester, 358 F.3d 916, and universities may not have the resources or inclination to work out the practical implications of all such research, i.e., finding and identifying compounds able to affect the mechanism discovered. That is no failure of the law’s interpretation, but its intention. Patents are not awarded for academic theories, no matter how groundbreaking or necessary to the later patentable inventions of others. “[A] patent is not a hunting license. It is not a reward for the search, but compensation for its successful conclusion.” Id. at 930 n.10 (quoting Brenner, 383 U.S. at 536). Requiring a written description of the invention limits patent protection to those who actually perform the difficult work of “invention”—that is, conceive of the complete and final invention with all its claimed limitations—and disclose the fruits of that effort to the public.
That research hypotheses do not qualify for patent protection possibly results in some loss of incentive, although Ariad presents no evidence of any discernable impact on the pace of innovation or the number of patents obtained by universities. But claims to research plans also impose costs on downstream research, discouraging later invention. The goal is to get the right balance, and the written description doctrine does so by giving the incentive to actual invention and not “attempt[s] to preempt the future before it has arrived.” Fiers, 984 F.2d at 1171. As this court has repeatedly stated, the purpose of the written description requirement is to “ensure that the scope of the right to exclude, as set forth in the claims, does not overreach the scope of the inventor’s contribution to the field of art as described in the patent specification.” Rochester, 358 F.3d at 920 (quoting Reiffin v. Microsoft Corp., 214 F.3d 1342, 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2000)). It is part of the quid pro quo of the patent grant and ensures that the public receives a meaningful disclosure in exchange for being excluded from practicing an invention for a period of time. Enzo, 323 F.3d at 970.
**Judge Newman separately wrote:
I join the court’s opinion. However, I write separately because the real issue of this case is too important to be submerged in rhetoric. The issue was recognized by Ariad, who complained that the written description requirement “has severe adverse consequences for research universities” because it prevents the patenting of “the type of discoveries that universities make,” that is, it prevents the patenting of basic scientific research. This question is squarely joined in this case, for the subject matter is indeed basic research, which was taken to the patent system before its practical application was demonstrated.
(...)
Ariad argues that the patentees made a basic discovery, and are not required to demonstrate its application in order to patent their “pioneering” achievement. Indeed, pioneering inventions can receive broad patents, when shown to have broad scope. The court deems the absence of any specific example of the postulated method of reducing symptoms to be a failure in the description of the invention. The dissenters appear to deem the inclusion of general methods whereby this result could be achieved, to suffice for patentability of the basic scientific concept.
(...)
Although the content varies, the threshold in all cases requires a transition from theory to practice, from basic science to its application, from research plan to demonstrated utility.
The written description is the way by which the scientific/technologic information embodied in patented inventions is disseminated to the public, for addition to the body of knowledge and for use in further understanding and advance. See id. at 1357 (“The written description requirement thus satisfies the policy premises of the law, whereby the inventor’s technical/scientific advance is added to the body of knowledge, as consideration for the grant of patent exclusivity.”).
Basic scientific principles are not the subject matter of patents, while their application is the focus of this law of commercial incentive. The role of the patent system is to encourage and enable the practical applications of scientific advances, through investment and commerce.
The practical utility on which commercial value is based is the realm of the patent grant; and in securing this exclusionary right, the patentee is obliged to describe and to enable subject matter commensurate with the scope of the exclusionary right. This is not a question of grammatical nuance of the placement of commas in Section 112; it is a question of the principle and policy of patent systems. The court’s opinion implements these precepts.
see LizardTech, Inc. v. Earth Res. Mapping, Inc., 433 F.3d 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (denying rehearing en banc on the question whether a separate written description requirement exists in § 112, first paragraph); Univ. of Rochester v. G.D. Searle & Co., Inc., 375 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (same);
Of course, URochester cited Festo for the presence of an independent written descripton requirement, a fact noted in Ariad: more recently in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722, 736 (2002).
Also of note:
As in any case involving statutory interpretation, we begin with the language of the statute itself. Consumer Prod. Safety Comm’n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 108 (1980).
(..)
See United States v. Menasche, 348 U.S. 528, 538-39 (1955) (“It is our duty ‘to give effect, if possible, to every clause and word of a statute.” (quoting Montclair v. Ramsdell, 107 U.S. 147, 152 (1883)).
(...)
We have also held that functional claim language can meet the written description requirement when the art has established a correlation between structure and function. See Enzo, 323 F.3d at 964 (quoting 66 Fed. Reg. 1099 (Jan. 5, 2001)). But merely drawing a fence around the outer limits of a purported genus is not an adequate substitute for describing a variety of materials constituting the genus and showing that one has invented a genus and not just a species.
(...)
But the hallmark of written description is disclosure. Thus, “possession as shown in the disclosure” is a more complete formulation. Yet whatever the specific articulation, the test requires an objective inquiry into the four corners of the specification from the perspective of a person of ordinary skill in the art. Based on that inquiry, the specification must describe an invention understandable to that skilled artisan and show that the inventor actually invented the invention claimed.
**The CAFC sent a message to universities -->
Ariad complains that the doctrine disadvantages universities to the extent that basic research cannot be patented. But the patent law has always been directed to the “useful Arts,” U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 8, meaning inventions with a practical use, see Brenner v. Manson, 383 U.S. 519, 532-36 (1966). Much university research relates to basic research, including research into scientific principles and mechanisms of action, see, e.g., Rochester, 358 F.3d 916, and universities may not have the resources or inclination to work out the practical implications of all such research, i.e., finding and identifying compounds able to affect the mechanism discovered. That is no failure of the law’s interpretation, but its intention. Patents are not awarded for academic theories, no matter how groundbreaking or necessary to the later patentable inventions of others. “[A] patent is not a hunting license. It is not a reward for the search, but compensation for its successful conclusion.” Id. at 930 n.10 (quoting Brenner, 383 U.S. at 536). Requiring a written description of the invention limits patent protection to those who actually perform the difficult work of “invention”—that is, conceive of the complete and final invention with all its claimed limitations—and disclose the fruits of that effort to the public.
That research hypotheses do not qualify for patent protection possibly results in some loss of incentive, although Ariad presents no evidence of any discernable impact on the pace of innovation or the number of patents obtained by universities. But claims to research plans also impose costs on downstream research, discouraging later invention. The goal is to get the right balance, and the written description doctrine does so by giving the incentive to actual invention and not “attempt[s] to preempt the future before it has arrived.” Fiers, 984 F.2d at 1171. As this court has repeatedly stated, the purpose of the written description requirement is to “ensure that the scope of the right to exclude, as set forth in the claims, does not overreach the scope of the inventor’s contribution to the field of art as described in the patent specification.” Rochester, 358 F.3d at 920 (quoting Reiffin v. Microsoft Corp., 214 F.3d 1342, 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2000)). It is part of the quid pro quo of the patent grant and ensures that the public receives a meaningful disclosure in exchange for being excluded from practicing an invention for a period of time. Enzo, 323 F.3d at 970.
**Judge Newman separately wrote:
I join the court’s opinion. However, I write separately because the real issue of this case is too important to be submerged in rhetoric. The issue was recognized by Ariad, who complained that the written description requirement “has severe adverse consequences for research universities” because it prevents the patenting of “the type of discoveries that universities make,” that is, it prevents the patenting of basic scientific research. This question is squarely joined in this case, for the subject matter is indeed basic research, which was taken to the patent system before its practical application was demonstrated.
(...)
Ariad argues that the patentees made a basic discovery, and are not required to demonstrate its application in order to patent their “pioneering” achievement. Indeed, pioneering inventions can receive broad patents, when shown to have broad scope. The court deems the absence of any specific example of the postulated method of reducing symptoms to be a failure in the description of the invention. The dissenters appear to deem the inclusion of general methods whereby this result could be achieved, to suffice for patentability of the basic scientific concept.
(...)
Although the content varies, the threshold in all cases requires a transition from theory to practice, from basic science to its application, from research plan to demonstrated utility.
The written description is the way by which the scientific/technologic information embodied in patented inventions is disseminated to the public, for addition to the body of knowledge and for use in further understanding and advance. See id. at 1357 (“The written description requirement thus satisfies the policy premises of the law, whereby the inventor’s technical/scientific advance is added to the body of knowledge, as consideration for the grant of patent exclusivity.”).
Basic scientific principles are not the subject matter of patents, while their application is the focus of this law of commercial incentive. The role of the patent system is to encourage and enable the practical applications of scientific advances, through investment and commerce.
The practical utility on which commercial value is based is the realm of the patent grant; and in securing this exclusionary right, the patentee is obliged to describe and to enable subject matter commensurate with the scope of the exclusionary right. This is not a question of grammatical nuance of the placement of commas in Section 112; it is a question of the principle and policy of patent systems. The court’s opinion implements these precepts.
posted by Lawrence B. Ebert at 7:17 PM
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