Eldora Ellison

The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued the UC system's 20th CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology patent with the arrival of the new year, according to a press release by Berkeley News.

The UC system was awarded a patent Tuesday, marking the university's 16th patent for the CRISPR-Cas9 patent portfolio — the highest number in the country.

The UC system and partners University of Vienna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded a 12th patent for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology. 

By the end of the summer, the UC system expects to receive five more patents, raising its portfolio to 15 total patents related to CRISPR technology.

The UC’s family of eight patents covers CRISPR methods for editing genes in any environment, whether the cells are in a plant, an animal or a human. This newest patent focuses specifically on the use of CRISPR gene editing within cells.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced an interference between multiple UC and multiple Broad Institute patents, a signal that the USPTO will resolve the seven-year ownership debate regarding CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing in eukaryotic cells.

After four years of litigation battles, the US Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, has finally approved a third CRISPR patent for the University of California.