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https://www.google.com/search?q=gene+patents+supreme+court

Google 12-398 if you want to hear the arguments presented today. In short, are patents on human genome sequences found enforceable? This is not a situation where genes were created or invented. The specific case concerns whether the two gene sequences currently linked with breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, are patentable such that only the company holding the patent can develop tests that look for these gene sequences in humans.

Will be very interesting to see the outcome.

stienman said:

Will be very interesting to see the outcome.

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I am assuming Craig Venter is behind this. I've seen one of his talks. He's an egomaniacal douche. No one owns genetic sequences anymore than anyone owns a new insect species. It's just greed. They can patent the technology to isolate and sequence the gene, but not the sequence itself. I don't care if they artificially/synthetically recreate the gene. The sequence was made by nature, not man.

GasBandit said:

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Didn't they try to "own" a cell line in that book? Same idea, IMO.

Well heel if that's the case I'll scrape up ten K and patent the entire human genome then live off the royalties the rest of my life

drawn_inward said:

Didn't they try to "own" a cell line in that book? Same idea, IMO.

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Not only did they try to "own" a certain person's unique DNA, they tried to use that as legal justification for kidnapping that person when they lost their sample so that they could take more samples as they needed them.

I'm pretty sure this is going to turn into a "Joker Fish" scenario.



Seriously... you can't patent or copyright a natural resource. As long as the genes occur naturally in the human genome, I'm pretty sure that counts as a natural resource.

I'd like to patent the night sky. Anyone involved in navigation via star charts, astronomy, or even superstitious astrology is going to have to license permission from me.

Ravenpoe said:

I'd like to patent the night sky. Anyone involved in navigation via star charts, astronomy, or even superstitious astrology is going to have to license permission from me.

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Am I allowed to gaze at the sky at night time still?

Ravenpoe said:

I'd like to patent the night sky. Anyone involved in navigation via star charts, astronomy, or even superstitious astrology is going to have to license permission from me.

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I dispute you invented the night sky. I have evidence of prior art to prove it.

CrimsonSoul said:

Am I allowed to gaze at the sky at night time still?

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We'll let the supreme court decide.

Closure
http://www.scotusblog.com/?p=164985

Sanity! Woot!

It's nice to see the Supreme Court give the correct ruling unanimously for once.

Finally, some uncommon sense!

Which is a very good thing, because otherwise the medical company in question probably would've tried to sue women with breast cancer...