Prosecuting claims to protein crystals

CHAL 4

Richard G. A. Bone, richardbone@fr.com, Fish and Richardson, PC, 500 Arguello Street, Suite 500, Redwood City, CA 94063
Although advances in protein crystallography mean that thousands of crystal structures are determined each year, we have not yet seen a deluge of patents that claim crystalline forms of proteins. I will review the applicable criteria for patentability, and the various pitfalls that can arise during prosecution of patent applications in this area.