Supreme Court Changes Its Mind on Metabolite Case

The Supreme Court, which had granted cert in the Laboratory Corporation of America v. Metabolite case, has now dismissed certiorari as improvidently granted. Justices Breyer, Stevens and Souter dissented, saying that the question presented, not a particularly difficult one to answer, is whether “the patent claim is invalid on the ground that it “improperly seeks to claim a monopoly over a basic scientific relationship.””  Read the ruling here.