Thomas Kiley discusses his involvement as legal counsel for Genentech, including his role in legal matters related to the successful expression of somatostatin in 1977, human insulin in 1979, and the human growth hormone in 1979. Kiley joined Genentech full-time in February 1980. He discusses controversies surrounding agreements and settlements between Genentech and organizations like Eli Lilly, KabiGen, Wellcome Trust and Genetics Institute, and the University of California. He also discusses several noteworthy cases, including Diamond v. Chakrabarty, related to patent protection for microorganisms artificially produced, and the role he played in filling an amicus curiae brief in which he argued that Congress rather than the Supreme Court was better suited to weigh the many considerations pertaining to patents.

Kiley also mentions several cases in which he served as an attorney, including his first big case—what he called the “permanent press” case—as well as litigation related to tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) while counsel for Genentech, including Dianne Pennica’s role in cloning and expressing it. He discusses Genentech’s suit against the Wellcome Trust in the greatest detail, mentioning his involvement in the court case overseas in the United Kingdom as well as the case in the United States. He talks about interactions with prominent scientists, including Sydney Brenner and Paul Berg. Near the end of the interview, Kiley speaks about his involvement with Hybritech and the mouse wars of the 1990s. He concludes by discussing his favorite trademark litigation case in which he was involved between Miss USA and Miss Nude USA.