The University of California’s Chief Intellectual Property Lawyer, Randi Jenkins, has officially confirmed plans to invalidate two patents, while simultaneously minimizing their perceived impact.
As CRISPR-Cas9’s complex narrative unfolds, these two European patents represent another pivotal chapter in the ongoing story, according to Jenkins. “We will continue to pursue our claims in Europe, where we expect the existing intellectual property protections to demonstrate substantial scope and strength.”
The patents being voluntarily disavowed are European Patents 2800811, granted in 2017, and 3401400, granted in 2019. Jenkins shares a notable distinction with the Nobel laureates: he co-owns an issued European patent for CRISPR technology (EP3597749) as well as another pending patent in this domain. That tally doesn’t accurately reflect the complex web of patent claims shielding cutting-edge research from Doudna’s Berkeley laboratory, which had been filed separately over time.
Freedom to function
The cancellation of European patents will significantly impact a diverse community of biotech companies that have invested in patent rights, seeking exclusive control over novel medical treatments and “freedom to operate” – the ability to conduct unencumbered gene editing research free from intellectual property disputes regarding method ownership.
The corporations involved include Editas Medicine, in partnership with the Broad Institute, as well as Caribou Biosciences and Intellia Therapeutics within the US, all co-founded by Jennifer Doudna. Additionally, Emmanuelle Charpentier’s companies, CRISPR Therapeutics and ERS Genomics, are also part of this group.
ERS Genomics, headquartered in Dublin and operating as the premier CRISPR licensing firm, was established in Europe to generate revenue by licensing its intellectual property in the highly valuable CRISPR technology to other companies. The company asserts it has secured non-exclusive licenses for its “foundational patents” to more than 150 corporations, universities, and organisations that utilise CRISPR technology in their research laboratories, production processes, or product development facilities.
Laura Koivusalo, the founder of Finland-based biotech company StemSight, accepted a “standard fee” after her firm’s research into an eye repair therapy using stem cells edited with CRISPR technology yielded promising results?
While some biotech companies may not deem it necessary to acquire patent rights before having a product to market, Koivusalo believed it was a wise decision to make. The acquisition of the license was due to the Nordic culture’s reputation for extraordinary reliability. When asked about obtaining a licence for analysis, we were told that one would be granted, and it was.
