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**PATENT LACKED WRITTEN DESCRIPTION DUE TO TYPOGRAPHICAL ERROR IN PROVISIONAL APPLICATION
Enanta Pharms., Inc. v. Pfizer Inc., 25-1427 — Yesterday in an opinion by Judge LOURIE, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court summary judgment that Enanta’s patent for compounds and methods of inhibiting coronavirus replication was invalid as anticipated. Pfizer argued Enanta was not entitled to the priority date of its provisional application because the patent lacked adequate written description due to a typographical error in the application.
The Federal Circuit agreed. The provisional application defined substituent chemical compounds as including NHC(O)—C2-C12-alkyl while the patent recited the same as NHC(O)—C1-C12-alkyl. The provisional application did not convey to a skilled artisan that the inventors possessed NHC(O)—C1-alkyl at the time of filing and therefore did not disclose the chemical moiety range claimed by the patent. The court rejected expert testimony that typographical errors elsewhere in the specification would have alerted a skilled artisan to the error in the claim and emphasized that speculation or extrinsic evidence could not substitute for what was disclosed.
(1 to 4 stars rate impact of opinion on patent & trademark law)
USPTO TO LOWER THRESHOLD FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON UNINTENTIONAL-DELAY PETITIONS
Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a final rule requiring additional information to support certain unintentional-delay petitions when the delay exceeds one year, down from the current two-year threshold. The change applies to any new petition filed on or after August 13, 2026, including petitions to revive abandoned applications, accept delayed maintenance fee payments, accept delayed priority or benefit claims, and excuse a failure to act within prescribed time limits in international design applications.