Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Decision in Favor of Rothwell Figg Client Seattle Children’s Research Institute

The Federal Circuit summarily affirmed the judgment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in Interference No. 106,052, resulting in a victory for Rothwell Figg client Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI).

The Interference involved a method of gene editing wherein mutagenesis at a targeted site is increased by coupling an endonuclease, such as a homing endonuclease, with an end-processing enzyme. The PTAB concluded that SCRI’s inventors were the first to invent and awarded SCRI judgment on priority. On appeal, the adverse party, Cellectis, challenged only the admissibility of SCRI’s evidence, as it had done in the Interference, but the Federal Circuit summarily affirmed the PTAB’s decision that SCRI evidence was not hearsay.

The Rothwell Figg team representing SCRI includes E. Anthony Figg, R. Danny Huntington, and Sharon Crane.