Webinar: John Liddicoat, University of Cambridge

Please join us for a webinar on Tuesday the 28th of Jan. 2020 at 11:00 London time i.e. 12:00 Brussels time, 13:00 Athens time. The speaker is John Liddicoat, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law. The title of the talk is "The Effects of Myriad and Mayo on Molecular Test Development in the US and Europe: Interviews from the Frontline".  

The moderator will be Dr. Andreas Panagopoulos. This webinar is free and open to all.

The program we use to deliver webinars is called FreeConference. It is a browser based program and it requires Google Chrome. To join us follow this link: https://hello.freeconference.com/conf/call/3011249

To participate and for further information, please contact Dr. Andreas Panagopoulos at least a day prior to the seminar.

Abstract: The US Supreme Court decisions in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories and Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. introduced significant divergence between US and European patentable subject matter law. Both cases related to molecular test technology and changed decades of patent practice. Whether the decisions adversely affect the development of molecular tests in the United States or Europe has been a matter of much speculation but limited empirical investigation. This interview-based study has three main findings. First, Myriad and Mayo have negatively affected the development of some molecular tests. Notably, half of the US university technology transfer offices interviewed decided not to develop tests, and many other organizations have found the legal uncertainty following the cases problematic. Second, small, “patent precarious” organizations, those that rely heavily on patents for competitive advantage, have been most affected. Third, US-headquartered organisations have been more affected by 35 U.S.C. § 101 case law developments than European organisations, even though both file for US patents.