The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Among Those Participating in MPEG LA’s CRISPR-Cas9 Joint Licensing Facilitation

World licensing leader MPEG LA, LLC is pleased to announce that key CRISPR patent holders have submitted patents in response to MPEG LA’s call to participate in the creation of a global CRISPR-Cas9 Joint Licensing Platform and that patent submissions continue to be accepted.

“The enthusiastic response to MPEG LA’s patent pool initiative is further evidence of the widely held view that CRISPR is too important to be left at risk of endless patent battles and splintered licensing regimes and that a pool providing one-stop licensing efficiency and predictability to scientists and businesses worldwide represents the best hope to unleash its life-enhancing potential,” said Larry Horn, President and CEO of MPEG LA. “As MPEG LA’s objective is to provide worldwide access to as much CRISPR intellectual property as possible and the market will benefit from the viewpoints of all stakeholders in this voluntary ground floor opportunity to determine CRISPR’s future, the door remains open and additional patent submissions continue to be welcomed.”

Among those who have agreed to participate, MPEG LA welcomes the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, which has submitted key CRISPR-Cas9 patents for consideration with joint owners Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Rockefeller University.

“We strongly support making CRISPR technology broadly available,” said Issi Rozen, Chief Business Officer of the Broad Institute. “The Broad Institute already licenses CRISPR-Cas9 non-exclusively for all applications, with the exception of human therapeutics, where we have significantly limited the exclusivity. We look forward to working with others to ensure the widest possible access to all key CRISPR intellectual property.”

“Regardless of the outcome of the various legal and administrative proceedings in the United States and Europe, many CRISPR patents owned by many different entities will be left standing and multiple licenses will still be necessary,” added Kristin Neuman, Executive Director, Biotechnology Licensing at MPEG LA. “Companies performing research and development the world over, including those who currently hold exclusive licenses, will benefit from the transparency of a pool and the ability to license the necessary patents in a single transaction on fair and predictable terms.”

Patent holders are encouraged to visit http://www.mpegla.com/main/pid/CRISPR/default.aspx for the terms and procedures governing submissions and eligibility. At least one eligible patent asset is necessary to participate in the license development process, and eligibility will be determined by MPEG LA at no cost to submitters. Except for confidentiality, participation is without obligation or commitment until such time as an eligible patent holder may decide to join the license.