The same patent enablement standard that has existed for centuries must be applied to modern antibody patents, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently, prompting attorneys to review current patents and applications and look closely at enablement in litigation and prosecution.

The justices’ ruling didn’t change the current law, but the details it provided will be important for attorneys moving forward. At issue was how much a patent must disclose in order for a skilled inventor to be able to reach the same invention without “undue experimentation,” thereby satisfying Section 112 of the Patent Act’s enablement requirements. That law went into effect in 2012, but enablement is not a new requirement.

Panitch Schwarze attorney Philip Hirschhorn was recently interviewed for an article in Law360 about how patent owners who have used broad claiming for their intellectual property should review those patents to see if they still appear sound and whether it makes sense to try to alter any patents. When a patent is issued, the owner has two years to request reissue in an attempt to broaden the information the patent discloses.

Read the full article here: “What IP Attys Should Know About Enablement After Amgen” (Subscription is required.)