The European Patent Office (EPO) was expected to issue key rulings on CRISPR/Cas9 patents this autumn, but instead, legal uncertainty persists. Nobel Prize winners Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, pioneers of the technology, withdrew their patent applications before decisions could be made—likely to avoid negative rulings. Maiwald handled their applications.
Meanwhile, International N&H Denmark successfully defended a patent (EP 2 018 414) related to CRISPR-tagged microorganisms, which can be used in food, feed, and pharmaceutical production. This remains one of the few CRISPR-related patents upheld by the EPO.
The ongoing legal battles and patent withdrawals highlight the continued uncertainty surrounding CRISPR patentability in Europe, impacting biotech companies relying on the technology.
This text is a summary of an article published by JUVE Patent. The full text of the article is available here.
