DISQUS

Think Gene: Patent for A Pig: The Privatization of Genetic Information

  • Andrew Yates · 1 year ago
    If the gene is used in a procedure, that procedure may be patented. I think what is happening is that a template of common procedures regarding genes in laboratory work is patented with the specifics regarding actual gene sequence used in the procedure the "novelty."

    So, I can't patent a gene itself, but I can patent every known procedural permutation of "a method for diagnosing, identifying, or manipulating a phenotype using gene X." The problem is that I think practically, patenting every known procedure regarding a gene is effectively patenting gene the itself (without actually doing so).

    I'm not a legal expert in this by any stretch of the imagination, so additional comments by experts are welcome.