Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Gen-Probe Inc.

Summary from IPO:  Biotech Patent Invalid Because of Offer for Sale More Than a Year Before Patent Filing -- Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Gen-Probe Inc. 04-1570 -- On Sept. 30 in an opinion by Judge Lourie, the Federal Circuit upheld a summary judgment that Enzo's patent was invalid because the invention was offered for sale more than a year before patent filing.  The patent is for nucleic acid probes for detecting gonorrhea. The Federal Circuit decided the lower court did not err in holding: (1) a paragraph in an agreement between the parties for joint funding of R&D was a commercial offer for sale, (2) material offered for sale to Gen-Probe in fact was the material claimed in the patent, and (3) the material offered for sale was reduced to practice and therefore ready for patenting.

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