SAN FRANCISCO — In a case addressing the patentability of biological discoveries, a federal judge has disarmed a biotechnology company that was wielding a patent to block competitors from offering a new form of noninvasive prenatal testing.
In a 20-page order issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California rejected a patent asserted by Sequenom Inc., agreeing with a rival that the patent combined the discovery of a nonpatentable law of nature and conventional scientific methods.
