GTG patent upheld for third time

One of Genetic Technologies’ (ASX:GTG) non-coding DNA patents has been upheld yet again by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The USPTO has just completed a third re-examination of the majority of the claims in GTG’s US Patent No 5,612,179, confirming the patentability of each of the claims.

The USPTO initiated the re-examination at the request of Merial LLC, one of numerous defendants in GTG’s US patent enforcement efforts.

Merial had already challenged claims from the patent once before, in mid-2012, and filed its latest challenge in April this year. This is the third time the patent has been re-examined.

The patent expired in March 2010 but is still enforceable for alleged infringement occurring during the latter part of its term.

“Once again, the successful resolution of this, the third re-examination of one of our key patents, reinforces the strength of the company’s non-coding patent portfolio,” GTG CEO Alison Mew said.

“With the removal of what some potential licensees have apparently used as a reason to delay settlement discussions, we hope that such negotiations will now resume in earnest.”

But Merial last month filed a third request for re-examination of the patent, and the USPTO is reviewing the request.

GTG last month announced the settlement of two separate US patent infringement lawsuits, leading to licensing deals with Seattle’s Genelex Corporation and Genesis Genetics Institute.

Genetic Technologies (ASX:GTG) shares were trading unchanged at $0.079 as of around 12.30 pm on Tuesday.