Intellectual property partner Brian O’Shaughnessy is quoted in a recent article by Law360 that follows a growing effort by pharmaceutical companies, universities, former federal judges and inventor advocacy groups to oppose Moderna’s attempt to shift liability in a COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute to the federal government under Section 1498.
The article highlights an amicus brief filed by the Bayh-Dole Coalition, which argues that adopting Moderna’s position would be inconsistent with the statute and precedent, and would constitute government overreach weakening patent protection generally. That trend would also diminish the value of university-owned patents on federally funded research, reducing the prospects that those inventions will be licensed by the private sector and developed into useful products.
Brian, who is chair of the Bayh-Dole Coalition board, and acted as its counsel here, emphasized the broader implications of the case, telling Law360: “Both as to 1498 and the march-in power of the Bayh-Dole Act, to have the government possess the power to effectively take away patents or ignore patents would be an enormous disincentive for our innovation ecosystem.”
Read the full article here.