Bioinformatics – Eligibility Challenges for Inventions at the Intersection of Biology and Software (Part 1 of a 4 Part Series)

The application of innovative data driven approaches such as bioinformatics and artificial intelligence to the life science sector has brought about a change in way that biological inventions can be protected by patent laws. Using patent filing and prosecution strategies developed in the fields of computer science and business methods, patent applicants now seek to protect certain aspects of their data driven innovations, which include computer-implemented tools, methods of doing business, and uses of insights discovered from data as well as more traditional biotechnological products and processes.