Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. v. Biogen Idec, No. 06-1634 (Fed. Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseThe district court granted summary judgment that all of the claims in plaintiff's patents were ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101, which excludes from patentability "laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas" because they were directed to the "abstract idea" that there is a relation between the infant immunization schedule for infectious diseases and the later occurrence of chronic immune-mediated (non-infectious) disorders. The Supreme Court vacated the Sixth Circuit's 2008 decision. On remand the Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to one patent's ineligibility, but vacated a portion of the judgment granted under the "safe harbor" provision of 35 U.S.C. 271(e)(1). One set of claims did not include putting knowledge to practical use, but was directed to the abstract principle that variation in immunization schedules may have consequences for certain diseases. Others require the further act of immunization in accordance with a lower-risk schedule, moving from abstract scientific principle to specific application.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on December 19, 2008.
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