Gen-Probe, Amoco Corp. diagnostics/imaging news

A Superior Court in California ruled in favor of Gen-Probe in a lawsuit brought by the Center for Neurologic Study (CNS) and funded by Amoco Corp. The litigation concerns ownership of certain of Gen-Probe's patents, known as the Kohne patents, which cover technologies to detect disease-causing organisms using genetic probes to ribosomal nucleic acid sequences.

CNS asserted in a 1993 suit that it was the rightful owner because David Kohne made the inventions in 1980 while working at CNS under a federal grant. In granting a summary judgment against CNS, the court ruled that there was no contract requiring Kohne to assign any inventions to CNS. ...