gene patents
denialism | June 13, 2013I'm pleased the Supreme Court has decided to reject the idea of patenting genes, as such case law would be restrictive to scientific discovery and also just feels fundamentally icky. From a legal perspective, as far as I understand patent law (not a lawyer here), it also seemed to fail on the more basic level of novelty and obviousness. The methods used to discover such genes were not what was invented. And one could conceive of "gene trolls" that would seek out gene aberrations and sit on them, just like other patent trolls, waiting for a payout and hindering scientific and medical…
dgmacarthur | March 29, 2010One of the major potential stumbling blocks for the field of genome-based diagnostics - particularly as we begin to move into the whole-genome sequencing era - is the unresolved issue of gene patents.
Currently somewhere in the order of 20% of the protein-coding genes in the human genome are covered by some kind of patent protection. However, the legal status of gene patents remains contentious.
Yesterday's astonishing defeat of Myriad Genetics in an ACLU-led case before a United States District Court is unexpected, and potentially a positive outcome for companies seeking to offer large-…
dgmacarthur | December 2, 2008Reposted with a new title and minor corrections.
A sorry saga in Australian commercial genetics has apparently drawn to a close - just as another one looks set to begin.
Let's start from the beginning. Back in 2003, Australian biotech Genetic Technologies bought acquired the rights to a patent on testing of the breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 from Myriad Genetics (see comments for details). In the face of massive public opposition to restrictions on public testing for the genes, the company announced that it wouldn't be enforcing the patent as a "gift to the people of Australia and New…