Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> Biolaw Blog

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Intellectual Property Law

: Biolaw Blog

Weldon Amendment Welded Onto The Patent Act

By Jim Chen et al.

ADVERTISEMENTS

In 2004, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law Number 108-199, Section 199) was passed with the "Weldon Amendment" (named for its sponsor, former Republican Congressman Dr. Dave Weldon), a rider stipulating that "[n]one of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this Act may be used to issue patents on claims directed to or encompassing a human organism." On September 16, 2011, when President Barack Obama signed into the law the America Invents Act, the Weldon Amendment became an integral part of the Patent Act. Effective immediately, here is what this new patent law requires:

SEC. 33. LIMITATIONS ON ISSUANCE OF PATENTS
(a) LIMITATION.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no patent may issue on a claim directed to or encompassing a human organism.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.-
(1) IN GENERAL.-Subsection (a) shall apply to any application for patent that is pending on, or filed on or after, the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) PRIOR APPLICATIONS.-Subsection (a) shall not affect the validity of any patent issued on an application to which paragraph (1) does not apply.

No one yet knows what "directed to or encompassing a human organism" means. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will have the first opportunity to apply this restriction as the initial arbiter of patent applications. Inevitably, the federal courts will weigh in to provide more authoritative interpretations. Eventually, Congress may have to amend this provision to clarify it. Meanwhile, the inclusion of this restriction on patenting "a human organism" directly within the patent statute strongly signals that at least some biotechnological advances have unsettled both Congress and the President.

Full post as published by Biolaw Blog on September 16, 2011 (boomark / email).