Skip to comments.
U.S. may end patents on DNA: report
MarketWatch ^
| Oct. 30, 2010, 1:12 p.m. EDT
| Christopher Hinton
Posted on 10/31/2010 7:56:21 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. may put an end to patents for human DNA and other genes, potentially changing the way biotechnology companies develop new drugs, the New York Times reported late Friday. In a brief filed by the Department of Justice, the U.S. concluded genes are a part of nature, and therefore not an invention, the newspaper reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Science
KEYWORDS: biotech; patents
To: neverdem
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
In a brief filed by the Department of Justice, the U.S. concluded genes are a part of nature, and therefore not an invention, the newspaper reported.
Every part of every material object was, at some point, "a part of nature." It's what is done with them in a unique way that is patentable. Sounds like another way the Obama in-Justice Department is using to undermine American excellence.
3
posted on
10/31/2010 8:01:06 AM PDT
by
aruanan
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Sounds like another Obama nail in the coffin of American exceptionalism and private enterprise to me.
4
posted on
10/31/2010 8:09:04 AM PDT
by
penelopesire
('Obama's Wars' are with our own military..Bush's Wars were with our enemies!)
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; aruanan
I thought that was settled by the Supreme Court in
Diamond v. Chakrabarty (1980) that if a gene or an organism is truly "man-made," e.g. genetically engineered, then it is indeed patentable.
How can they overturn tens of thousands of patents issued over the past 30 years?
5
posted on
10/31/2010 8:09:11 AM PDT
by
Mrs. Don-o
(In theory. there's no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is. -Yogi Berra)
To: Mrs. Don-o
How can they overturn tens of thousands of patents issued over the past 30 years? Prior art. There were billions of years of evolution.
6
posted on
10/31/2010 8:42:14 AM PDT
by
glorgau
To: Mrs. Don-o
I think they’re referring to natural i.e. non bio-engineered DNA sequences. It’s about time to.
7
posted on
10/31/2010 8:59:45 AM PDT
by
eclecticEel
(Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: 7/4/1776 - 3/21/2010)
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
All you have to do is file a patent on a sequence of nucleotides, and nobody can do any research on that "DNA" without paying a royalty to you.
That sounds more like barratry than science or engineering, to me.
Patenting Life, by Michael Chrichton
8
posted on
10/31/2010 9:03:09 AM PDT
by
E. Pluribus Unum
("The only stable state is one in which all men are equal before the law." -- Aristotle)
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson