When it comes to emerging health technology, securing the necessary IP protections means facing some pretty interesting challenges, including the task of educating patent examiners about an entirely new class of technology.

With healthcare startups and mobile health apps proliferating, a new category of digital healthcare has emerged: digital therapeutics. Also known as “software-as-a-drug,” digital therapeutics use Internet-based technology to help patients change a specific behavior. In fact, studies have shown the technology to be promising for treating a variety of medical and psychological conditions.

Recently, the FDA approved the country's first digital therapeutic: reSET, an app developed by Pear Therapeutics that's being used to help treat substance use disorders. Pear's patent attorney, Scott Barnett of intellectual property law firm Harness Dickey, recently sat down with Inside Counsel to discuss the importance of IP to healthcare startups and this emerging category of digital therapeutics.