U.S. Supreme Court Rules That DNA Cannot Be Patented

If you have been following the genomic revolution which has been going on in the world, or even anyone who believes in human rights, civil rights, and other human liberties should read this blog. What happened Thursday in the U.S. Supreme Court is probably one of the most significant leaps in the genomic revolution in making the well-being of every individual more important than corporate revenue.

It regards anyone who believes that corporations should not be able to patent the human genome.  The Billion dollar corporation Myriad Genetics had the patent over the tests as well as the genes that determine the BRCA1 gene, better known as the breast cancer gene and may now be faced with rendering those patents void.

Justice Clarence Thomas who wrote the decision did so under patent laws, which say that 'patents cannot be put upon the laws of nature, natural phenomena and/or abstract ideas.'And I believe that to be a truthful.

For over thirty years the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been giving out patents to the human genome, and now with this new ruling many, if not all patents on the human genome will be reversed and given back to the rest of the scientific community for future progression into the genes and the tests.

As awesome as this recent ruling looks, it is not as great as it seems. The court didn’t rule against synthetic genes and method’s, because in theory and practice, Myriad genetics and other such companies can still patent the ways in which the genes and tests are being done, which could significantly slow down potential progression of the genetic revolution.

Here’s the a take on the recent ruling from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/13/sci-scotus-dna-patent.html

 

U.S. Supreme Court rules human DNA cannot be patented

Judgment reverses three decades of patent awards by government officials

The Associated Press 

Posted: Jun 13, 2013 12:08 PM ET