U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Gene Patents
U.S. Supreme Court United States Courts Naturally occurring genes cannot be patented, but synthetic ones can. The U.S. Supreme Court finally ruled today on patenting breast-cancer genes. The ruling found that naturally occurring genes aren't patentable. If you make a synthetic version, however, that is your own work. "The Court's decision strikes a middle ground that likely will not be particularly disruptive," Tom Goldstein, a Harvard Law School professor and publisher of SCOTUSblog, wrote in his publication's liveblog about the ruling. Scientists from Myriad Genetics in Utah were the first to find and isolate BRCA1 and BRCA2, two major genes that affect people's chances of getting hereditary breast, ovarian and other cancers. The company holds numerous patents relating to those discoveries, which opponents say is unreasonable, because genes are products of nature, not patentable inventions. The case made its way to the Supreme Court because one group-including doctors, researchers and patient advocacy organizations-has...