Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's final written decision upholding the validity of U.S. Patent No. 9,803,176 directed to isolated stem cells. The court reviewed the Board's claim construction and factual findings, concluding there was no legal error in interpreting the 'placing' and 'isolated cell' limitations. Additionally, the court held that substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that the cited prior art did not inherently anticipate or render the claimed cell populations obvious.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Board erred in its construction of the “placing” step of claim 1.
- Whether the Board erred in its construction of “isolated cell” as a cell population.
- Whether the Board erred in finding that Majore does not inherently anticipate claim 1.
- Whether claim 9 is obvious.
Holdings
- The Board’s construction of the “placing” step is correct; no error.
- The Board correctly construed “isolated cell” to refer to a cell population.
- The Board correctly held that Majore does not inherently anticipate claim 1 because the prior art does not inevitably produce the required cell‑marker expression profile.
- The Board correctly found claim 9 is not obvious for the same reasons as claim 1.
Key quotations
“We do not agree with Restem that the Board’s analysis constituted an implicit construction of the “placing” step beyond its stated construction.” (at 1)
“We see no error in the Board’s construction of “an isolated cell” as “a cell population.”” (at 1)
Factual background
Jadi Cell owns U.S. Patent No. 9,803,176 covering isolated stem cells derived from the subepithelial layer of umbilical cord tissue. Restem challenged claims 1‑15 as anticipated or obvious over prior art references Majore, Phan, and Kita.
Procedural history
Restem appealed the Board's final written decision that it failed to prove claims 1–15 of the ’176 patent were unpatentable. The Board had previously construed claim terms and held no anticipation or obviousness.