BIO Submits Amicus Brief in Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corporation (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit)

BIO submitted an amicus brief in Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corporation, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Because modern biotechnological products commonly involve lengthy, resource-intensive development periods, BIO’s members depend on a strong, stable, uniform system of patent rights and protections.

Patents have faced daunting odds in America Invents Act (AIA) proceedings. The share of AIA petitions challenging biopharmaceutical patent claims has risen from 6 percent in 2014, to 9 percent in 2015, to 13 percent in 2016. Such petitions targeting biopharma patents are increasingly brought not by fellow biopharma companies who want to compete, but by third parties such as hedge funds making market wagers by challenging a patent in an AIA petition while shorting the patent owner’s (or licensee’s) stock.

Given the importance of patents to BIO’s members and biopharmaceutical innovation, and the increasingly grave significance of AIA challenges to their patents, BIO members have a strong interest in ensuring appropriate judicial review is available to ensure that the PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board acts consistently and predictably within its statutory and regulatory authority.