In this third installment of a six-part Patent Law Course offered by Morrison & Foerster and GSAS Harvard Biotech Club, MoFo partner and head of the firm’s China Life Sciences Group Janet Xiao taught a class on the value, protection, and legal issues involved with biotechnology patents, as well as a comparison between generics and biogenerics. ‘The students were very engaged and asked insightful questions as we delved deep into patent issues in biotechnology inventions,’ Janet commented.
Anna Yuan, AI and software patent expert and founder of the firm’s Life Sciences Data Analytics Patent Group, followed with a class on AI-related patent filings, answering the questions What is AI? What can be covered in an AI patent? What is a good AI patent? The class also discussed the choice between patent or trade secret as it relates to AI. Anna highlighted that ‘it was a pleasure speaking to life sciences students about software – as the line between the two disciplines is becoming increasingly blurred. And it was great to get to know so many students that are at the forefront of this interdisciplinary field.’
Next week’s class will be taught by MoFo partner and head of our FDA Regulatory + Life Sciences Compliance practice Bethany Hills, and patent associate Dr. Yan Qi. Bethany Hills will be discussing the FDA drug and software approval process. Dr. Qi will provide a brief introduction to the CRISPR technology, an overview of the University of California / Broad Institute CRISPR patent interference battle, and available licensing platforms for the technology.