Patent holders are wasting their resources when they ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for an en banc rehearing on diagnostic claims that have been declared ineligible because they cite a law of nature.

23andme, of Mountain View, Calif., may appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to hear a patent dispute the company has with Ancestry.com of Lehi, Utah, without having to wait for the conclusion of a parallel dispute over trademarking. At risk is a gene profiling method for determining ancestry dubbed "identical-by-descent," but recent developments in case law suggest the patent has a tough road ahead of it.