New Rules Proposed on Gene Patenting
The US Justice Department filed an Amicus Brief with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that surprised many of the people that have been closely following the case (link to full brief here). What surprised people was not that the brief was filed, but that it supported the party challenging the patents and goes against the policies of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as decades of case law on the subject.
The Justice Department made the claim that human genes in their natural isolated state are unacceptable for patent protection because the genes are not human-made and thus are more akin to a discovery than an invention. This brief has received its fair share of criticism. While this will certainly have far-reaching effects on the bio-medical industry, it is not as far reaching as it may at first seem. While the brief states that the Justice Department feels that patents shouldn’t be granted for isolated genes, many of the valuable patents dealing with genes actually refer to scientific processes or altered genes, which the Justice Department states should be able to receive patent protection.
Many of those who oppose the patenting of genes say that it will stifle the ability of new medical techniques, such as the ability of a person to have their personal genome read and reviewed for various diseases. Proponents of gene patents claim that the ability to patent genes fosters innovation in the field by ensuring that those who do research will be compensated for their work.
Currently the USPTO is not following the opinion of the Justice Department as stated in their Amicus Brief, but with such a respected authority coming down on this side of the argument the industry is on very uncertain ground in their ability to receive patent protection in the coming years.
Related posts:
- Patent & Intelletual Property Auction and Advance Sales Help Inventors Gauge the Price of Technology Do you ever wonder what your patent is worth? Or, if it is worthless? If so, then you might want...
- Green Technology Protection to Fast Track Success The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a pilot program that allows inventors to “speed up” the patent...
Comments
-
Recent Blog Articles
- Conference — Worldwide Patent Statistics for Forecasting Technology-Related Activities
- October 27 & 28 – Free Inventors Conference Presented by USPTO
- Native American Artists and Craftsman: GAO Discusses Violations and Lack of US Enforcement
- Trademark Monitoring Scam: Don’t get dooped
- Obama administration proposes stricter IP laws
- Are you getting sued? What getting a Cease and Desist letter means for you.
- What does ‘Use in Commerce’ mean in your USPTO trademark application?
- FCC issues new Net Neutrality rules
- USPTO Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program: Lay-A-Way Option Available to December 7, 2011
- The Battle over Network Neutrality May Finally Be Hitting Your Monthly Bill as Comcast and Netflix Provider Spar
- Facebook Continues its Litigation Trend – The Next Target: Lamebook
- Calculating Damages for Copyright Infringement
- Architectural Copyrights – When a building is more than the sum of its parts.
- Rosetta Stone Gears up for a Battle Against Google and the Future of Adwords
- New Rules Proposed on Gene Patenting
- 4chan and the Internet Dispense Justice as They See Fit
- A Thin Line Between Artistry and Architecture
- Speech Crimes: How talking on the Internet can get you into trouble
- Virginia Imagination Made Real EXPO for Innovators
- Trademark Abbreviations & The Public Use Doctrine
Subscribe:
Categories
- American Indian (4)
- Business (69)
- Charities (1)
- Copyright Articles (34)
- Architecture (1)
- Government Contracting (9)
- Internet (2)
- Inventor & Entrepreneur Updates (64)
- law (22)
- Online Privacy (11)
- Patent Articles (50)
- Press release (6)
- trademark (25)
- Trademark Articles (28)
- U Decide (1)
- Uncategorized (14)