Supreme Court: No Patents For Natural DNA Sequences 214
ColdWetDog writes "The ongoing story of Myriad Genetics versus the rest of the world has come to an end. In a 9-0 decision, the US Supreme Court has decided that human genes cannot be patented.
From a brief Bloomberg article: 'Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said isolated DNA is a "product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated." At the same time, Thomas said synthetic molecules known as complementary DNA, or cDNA, can be patented because they require a significant amount of human manipulation to create.' Seems perfectly sane. Raw genes, the ones you find in nature are, wait for it — natural. Other bits of manipulated DNA / RNA / protein which take skill and time to create are potentially patentable. Oddly, Myriad Genetics stock actually rose on that information."
Adds reader the eric conspiracy: "The result for Myriad is that they still have protection for their test, however the decision also allows researchers to work with the DNA sequences that are predecessors to the cDNA used in the test." Here's an AP report on the ruling, as carried by the Washington Post.
Be still, my heart! (Score:5, Funny)
A breath of IP sanity from SCOTUS? And unanimously at that?
Pinch me. Surely I dream.
Re:The bigger news here... (Score:3, Funny)
is that Clarence Thomas said something (even writing an opinion). He's only been on the court, what, 10+ years or something?
Antonin Scalia's mind-meld field is vulnerable to disruption by sunspots, geomagnetic anomalies, and nearby homosexuals. Some mistakes are inevitable from time to time...
Re:Be still, my heart! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:THIS MADE MY DAY!! (Score:5, Funny)
Do you find you often get peoples' voicemail?
Who knew... (Score:2, Funny)
SCOTUS agrees unanimously on something? *Looks at the calendar* It's not April 1st... Am I being punked??
Re:Why is it odd? (Score:4, Funny)
Or, I could see a patent on genes being issued to either "God" or "The Universe", depending upon religous beliefs (or lack thereof).
Once again, I see people would rather ignore Pastafarianism than accept the objective evidence of its correctness.
I will note that DNA was obviously made by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, in his image. Why else would the foundation of life be so noodley? Yet more evidence we are correct!
Re:Why is it odd? (Score:5, Funny)
The ONLY people who should be entitled to a patent on my genome is my parents, and even that is questionable.
It's probably much too late for your parents to claim a patent. If they're anything like my parents you (the invention) were publicly disclosed long before you were even born. The method used for your creation is also widely known, with an entire industry devoted to educational videos documenting many examples of the process and it's variations.
Re:Why is it odd? (Score:2, Funny)
Once again, I see people would rather ignore Pastafarianism than accept the objective evidence of its correctness.
I will note that DNA was obviously made by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, in his image. Why else would the foundation of life be so noodley? Yet more evidence we are correct!
Oh, you religious nuts are all the same, twisting the evidence to reinforce your own nonsensical beliefs. If DNA were really the creation of some mythical Pasta, how do you explain the disparity between the portion of double helical pastas and the portion of double helical DNA? Or more to the point, where are the single helix based lifeforms, modeled in His noodley image?
No, if the latest findings from the field of theoretical physics are to be considered, the best evidence is for some form of six sided god with varying numbers of pips on each side depending on your denomination. Einstein was close when he said "God does not play at dice," for God *is* the dice. When you think about it, our youth has really known this for generations, naming the devout religious members of the population "squares."
Re:Why is it odd? (Score:3, Funny)
Ramen brother. Ramen.