Michael R. Ward
Morrison & Foerster LLP
Articles
European Patent Office finds plants and plant products patent-eligible
European Union - April 1 2015 On March 25, the Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBA) of the European Patent Office (EPO) handed a victory to those seeking to protect plant inventions in…
New Canadian law strengthens Plant Breeders' Rights
Canada - March 3 2015 On February 26, 2015, Canada amended its Plant Breeders' Rights Act to bring the country's laws into conformity with the 1991 Act of the Convention…
Federal Circuit finds no public use in Delano Farms Co. et al. V. The California Table Grape Commission
USA - January 13 2015 Last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a judgment by the Eastern District of California that two United States Plant Patents, PP16,229 and PP16,284…
Bowman v. Monsanto: crisis averted on IP protection for self-replicating technologies
USA - May 14 2013 Life science companies in general (and seed companies in particular) are breathing a sigh of relief following the Supreme Court's decision yesterday…
Beineke v. Kappos – are discovered plants patentable?
USA - January 28 2013 In November, Walter Beineke petitioned the Supreme Court for review of a Federal Circuit decision affirming the rejection of two plant patents on…
