The University of Wisconsin�s main patent arm�s Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation announced Thursday morning they were notified of a key trademark decision in their favor.

The United States Patent and Trademark�s Office ruled to uphold the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation�s claims in the face of New York and California based biotech organizations that challenged the patent�s validity in 2006.

WARF�s managing director Carl Gulbrandsen said in a statement Thursday the decision coincided with what they had always maintained since 1998.

“We’re extremely pleased with this decision,� Gulbrandsen said. �It affirms what WARF has believed all along, that Dr. Thomson’s breakthrough discoveries are patentable inventions.”

The patent, �913,� deals with primate and human embryonic stem cells. Two other patents, numbers �780� and �806� are still pending a review by the trademark office.

See more about the future of UW�s stem cell patents in Friday�s edition of The Badger Herald.