Biotech Values

[iwfal]

I don’t know what “loophole” AMGN could have exploited to delay its issuance. If anyone knows, please post.

Although Orange refers to this as 'inconsistencies at the patent office' it is a poster child for why the patent law was changed to 20 years from filing (vs 17 years from issue). Companies filed patents and then intentionally dragged out the PTO process creating submarine patents. In an 'optimal' submarine patent you even create new claims incorporating material discovered well after the date of filing - e.g. if someone starts commercializing something related to your patent while it is in submarine state you morph the claims to cover it.

Obviously I consider these patents the worst sort of misbehavior (extreme violation of intent) and I hope there is some process to reliably invalidate them - and ideally, punish the filer.