The CRISPR pioneers in 2012 missed crucial technical details in their patent application, costing them valuable European patent rights.
Their first patent application did not include the critical PAM sequence, making it impossible for other scientists to replicate their invention.
By the time they filed a second patent with the PAM sequence, their own Science paper had already disclosed the invention, rendering the patent invalid.
Publishing a scientific paper without securing patent rights can lead to the loss of patentable innovation.