Court: Can human genes be patented?

[dipsydoodle]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- DNA may be the building block of life, but can something taken from it also be the building block of a multimillion-dollar medical monopoly?

The Supreme Court grapples Monday with the question of whether human genes can be patented. Its ultimate answer could reshape U.S. medical research, the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer and the multi-billion dollar medical and biotechnology business.

"The intellectual framework that comes out of the decision could have a significant impact on other patents - for antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, stem cells and diagnostics on infectious microbes that are found in nature," Robert Cook-Deegan, director for genome ethics, law & policy at Duke University, said in a statement.

"This could affect agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, green-tech, the use of organisms to produce alternative fuels and other applications," he said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_PATENTING_GENES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-15-03-39-14

[GeorgeGist]

1. and if someone has a defective gene ...

they should be able to sue the patent holder.

[kristopher]

2. Actually the case is about a "defective" gene

The company identified a gene responsible for an illness. They want to patent it so that no other company can use the gene to develop a treatment that isn't controlled by the patent seeker.

NPR had coverage of the hearing - it didn't sound like anyone on the court was sympathetic to the company seeking the patent.