So last night on Jeopardy there was a question kind of related to this shit…
Something to the effect of "the brca 1 and 2 genes
involving this type of cancer we're found not to be
patent-able"…
Strange fucking timing for that to be on Jeopardy
don't ya say
After looking into it, there are genes that have
been patented but the aclu and others have fought
against it…
"The patent system was designed to grant certain rights to inventors for their inventions in order to reward and encourage human ingenuity. But genes are naturally-occurring parts of our bodies, not inventions. Researchers identify genes, they don't invent them. U.S. law recognizes this differentiation; there is long-standing legal precedent that "products of nature" are not patentable. You can't patent gold or other basic elements, for example."
"Patent law has long held that products of nature and laws of nature are not patentable subject matter. The USPTO is failing to abide by this precedent when it grants patents on human genes. Human genes, even when removed from the body, are still products of nature, and their associations with diseases are laws of nature.
The First Amendment protects the freedom of thought, academic inquiry, and the exchange of knowledge and ideas. Gene patents implicate the First Amendment because the very thought that there is a relationship between specific genetic mutations and diseases has been patented and because scientific inquiry is limited.
The Patent Clause in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to award patents "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Human genes are not inventions, and awarding patents on them does not promote the progress of science. Instead, gene patents slow scientific advancement, because there is no way to invent around a gene – the gene is the basis for all subsequent research."
I mean, fuck the ACLU but definatley interesting…
https://www.aclu.org/other/brca-faqs
Touche