Stanford's Gene Patent Hits Snags

Abstract

Background information is presented on the preliminary rejection of a 1978 recombinant DNA patent application by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer. The Patent Office is concerned about the omission of important information from the application, the exclusion of a third collaborator as co-inventor, and the interval between public disclosure and the date of filing. The dispute could lead to a challenge of a related Cohen-Boyer patent issued in 1980, posing a financial threat to Stanford University, which holds the lucrative patent rights, and the University of California, which shares the licensing fees and royalties. (KIE abstract)