title: Time-lapse microscopy patent upheld in Europe.
abstract: A case for revoking Stanford University's European patent 2430454 on time-lapse microscopy was set out in Reproductive BioMedicine Online by Sterckx et al. in 2014, on the grounds that the patent claimed a method of diagnosis that was excluded under a provision of the European Patent Convention. An opposition at the European Patent Office in which this ground was raised has recently concluded with a decision that the patent is not excluded from patentability under European patent law and is to be upheld. An appeal from this decision has been filed, but the possibility of the decision being overturned is, in this author's opinion, very limited.
authors.affiliation: Barker Brettell LLP, 100 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8QQ, UK. Electronic address: david.pearce@barkerbrettell.co.uk.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pearce
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005060:Europe; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods*; D010330:Patents as Topic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D014495:Universities
keywords: diagnosis; patents; time-lapse microscopy