Who’s in Charge Here? Or Is the PTAB Bound by USPTO Guidances?

By Kevin E. Noonan — In a decision from an appeal before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board following rejection of claims to an isolated nucleic acid apparently (to applicants) falling within the scope of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Guidance setting forth Office policy for implementing the Supreme Court's decision in AMP v. Myriad Genetics is this assertion by the Board: Appellants cite as support the USPTO's 2014 . . . ("Interim Guidance"). In particular, Appellants points to Claim 2 of Example 7 in the Interim Guidance . . . —"Isolated nucleic acid comprising a sequence that has at…Original Article