Tag: genus claims
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Exelixis v. MSN Labs: Federal Circuit Upholds Crystalline Salt Genus Under § 112 Written Description
The Federal Circuit’s precedential decision in Exelixis, Inc. v. MSN Laboratories Private Ltd., Case No. 25-1236 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 31, 2026), affirmed a bench-trial finding that patents claiming crystalline cabozantinib (L)-malate satisfied the written-description requirement even though the specification expressly characterized only two crystalline polymorphs. The court concluded that the chemical name and formula of…
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Duke v. Sandoz: Federal Circuit Invalidates Genus Claim for Lack of Written Description
On November 18, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a significant written description decision in Duke University v. Sandoz Inc., reversing a jury verdict and holding claim 30 of U.S. Patent No. 9,579,270 invalid for lack of adequate written description. The opinion is a textbook application of the court’s “blaze marks” jurisprudence and a reminder that…
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Brita v. ITC: Functional Genus Claims Fail Written Description and Enablement
The Federal Circuit’s October 15, 2025 decision in Brita LP v. International Trade Commission delivers a clear warning to patentees who rely on broad, functionally defined genus claims without commensurate disclosure. Affirming the ITC, the court held that claims covering any gravity-fed water filter media achieving a particular performance metric failed both the written description…