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WARF stem cell patents officially affirmed
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued Re-examination Certificates for the two most important base embryonic stem cell patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
This ruling is not appealable, which means that the claims of these patents stand confirmed and enforceable.
This action officially concludes a re-examination process for these patents that began in October of 2006, and was decided in WARF's favor in March of this year. This final process was little more than a formality.
The patent office issued certificates for patents 780 and 806, which date back more than a decade to the breakthrough discovery of the isolation and culture of primate and human embryonic stem cells made at UW-Madison.
"We are extremely pleased that the patent office has officially concluded these re-examinations," Carl Gulbrandsen, WARF managing director, said in a release. "Due to the patent office's extremely thorough and detailed re-examinations, we feel our patents are stronger than ever and affirm that Dr. James Thomson's groundbreaking discoveries are patentable inventions."
