June 13, 2013
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Association for Molecular Pathology et al vs. Myriad Genetics, Inc.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) announced their ruling in the case of the Association for Molecular Pathology et al vs Myriad Genetics, Inc.
The Supreme Court has found in favor of the Plaintiffs and ruled that patents Myriad holds on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 cancer genes are invalid because they represent patent in-eligible products of nature.
Myriad based its defense around the argument that they had developed the process by which to isolate and chemically alter the genes, but SCOTUS ruled that according to US Patent law, 35 U.S.C. S101, genes and genetic material are naturally occurring and that isolating them is not patent eligible. However, the product of this process, synthetically created DNA or cDNA is patentable, as it is not naturally occurring.
In a summary briefing on the ruling, (Read the full summary here), Justice Clarence Thomas stated, “We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but that cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring.”
Story and content provided by The American Pathology Foundation. Click here to learn more about The American Pathology Foundation (APF).
Related news:
© 2023 Tissuepathology.com. All rights reserved. Millennial Consulting. | Web Design by Zealth Digital Marketing