Mapping Markush

The Institute of Economics will hold a seminar meeting as part of its Seminar Series on Tuesday, January 11, 2021: Stefan Wagner from ESMT Berlin will present the paper "Mapping Markush".

Abstract:

Markush structures are molecular skeletons containing not only specific atoms but also placeholders to represent broad sets of chemical (sub)structures. They allow a vast number of compounds (e.g., 10^16 different compounds within patent EP 0810 209) to be claimed in a patent application without having to specify every single chemical entity. While Markush structures raise important questions regarding the functioning of the patent system, innovation researchers have been surprisingly silent on the topic. This paper summarizes the ongoing policy debate about Markush structures and provides first empirical insights into how Markush structures are used in patent documents in the pharmaceutical industry and how they affect important outcomes. While not causing frictions in the patent prosecution process, patent documents containing Markush structures have an increased likelihood to restrict the patentability of follow-on inventions and to hamper the entry of generic competition in the product market.

The seminar will be held in blended mode. In person participation is possible and available seats are allocated on a first come first served basis. For online participation please use the following link.