Patents

Special leave in Aristocrat refused: Australia’s approach to patentability of CIIs settled

Special leave in Aristocrat refused: Australia’s approach to patentability of CIIs settled

11 February 2026
By Suzy Madar, Kate Hay, Jacob Flynn, Rowan Tan
Following the High Court’s refusal of special leave to the Commissioner of Patents on 5 February 2026, Australia now has a clear position on computer-implemented inventions (CIIs): the Full Federal Court’s September 2025 articulation of the test in Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Patents[1] remains the settled law.
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Branched meanings: Lexicography of ‘branched alkyl’ decides Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute

Branched meanings: Lexicography of ‘branched alkyl’ decides Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine patent dispute

1 July 2025
By Suzy Madar, Emily King
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently decided that Moderna’s mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX®, did not infringe Alnylam’s patents because the cationic lipid used in the vaccine, SM-102, was not a cationic lipid with a ‘branched alkyl’ group.[1] The case turned on the proper construction of ‘branched alkyl’.
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