Pratap Devarapalli

Title : Patenting bioprinting innovations: An australian perspective

Abstract:

Three-dimensional (3D) Bioprinting also known as 3D biofabrication is an additive manufacturing process that involves printing of biological material in the form of 3D structures such as tissues, scaffolds and organs. The applications of 3D Bioprinting range from personalized 3D bioprinted tissue models for drug discovery to 3D bioprinted functional organs developed from patients' stem cells for the purpose of organ transplantation. Considering the applications of bioprinting innovations, the research on bioprinting technology has rapidly increased in recent years. Specifically, research on bioprinting attracts commercial interest due to the extent of time and investments involved in bioprinting research. Accordingly, the research outputs are protected through different intellectual property systems in which patents play a key role. This presentation provides an overview of patentability requirements applicable to different types of bioprinting innovations from an Australian patent law perspective. In addition, this presentation sheds light on different patentability criteria such as patentable subject matter, novelty, inventive step, utility etc. that needed to be satisfied by different bioprinting inventions to be considered patentable in Australia. Considering the applicability of patentability requirements, this presentation further provides a few examples of the types of bioprinting patent claims that can be considered patentable and non-patentable in Australia.

Biography:

Pratap is an Intellectual Property Strategist and Patent researcher. He has expertise in dealing with Intellectual Property issues in relation to Artificial Intelligence, 3D Bioprinting, Biologics, Biosimilars and Systems Biology. Pratap is a Research Scholar at the Centre for Law and Genetics, University of Tasmania, Australia. In 2018, he has been invited by Govt. of Japan to assist the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) in the harmonization of Japanese Patent Law. In 2017, he completed his Masters of Law (LLM) in Intellectual Property from World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva and the Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He is the recipient of the prestigious International Fellowship offered by WIPO. He holds a Master's degree in Genomics from the Central University of Kerala, India and a Bachelors degree in Biotechnology, Microbiology, and Chemistry from Acharya Nagarjuna University, India. Mr. Pratap pursued his Postgraduate Diploma in Patinformatics from the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) at CSIR Unit of Research and Development of Information Products, India and worked as a Patent Researcher in the same. Simultaneously, he pursued his Postgraduate Diploma in Patent Law from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), India.