The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has filed three supplemental amendments to its disputed embryonic stem cell claims, which are undergoing re-examination by the US Patent Office. But the changes will have little impact on the point at issue, which is whether the techniques described were original enough to be patented, according to William L. Warren, an intellectual property lawyer with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Atlanta. WARF said the changes filed Tuesday are meant to clarify language in the claims following meetings with patent examiners late last month, and are not a reversal in WARF's stance in the patent dispute. "We are clarifying the claims and improving the consistency among the three claims," said Janet Kelly, a spokeswoman for WARF. "It's not unusual to clarify language in existing patents."The three supplemental amendments total 27 pages of new clauses, as well as changes made earlier this year. Kelly declined to...
Grady FrenchickUS Patent OfficeFoundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rightsa preliminary rulingThe ScientistJames ThomsonScientists contendmail@the-scientist.comhttp://www.warf.ws/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/25037/http://law.wisc.edu/faculty/biog.php?iID=274http://patft.uspto.gov/http://www.consumerwatchdog.orgThe Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/53054/http://www.news.wisc.edu/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/25131
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