CGS : Patents & Other IP

About Patents, Other Intellectual Property & Human Biotechnology

Human biotechnology is both constrained and catalyzed by intellectual property law, which regulates who can use certain information, ideas, and processes. Patents—one form of intellectual property—give the holder an exclusive right to produce and sell an invention.

While patents provide an incentive to inventors, they can also inhibit information flow. Their management has a tremendous impact on how biotechnologies are developed, and who benefits from them.

In the United States, the development of biotechnology has been dramatically influenced by two developments in 1980 that greatly increased the incentives for the commercialization of the life sciences. Congress passed the Bayh-Dole Act, which reformed how inventions from federally-funded research are managed. The same year, the Supreme Court ruled in Diamond v. Chakrabarty that living things, including genes, could be patented.

Inside the Stem Cell Shell Gameby Gina Maranto, Biopolitical Times guest contributorJune 18th, 2013Sociologist Ruha Benjamin examines the California stem cell initiative from a social justice perspective.

After Patent Ruling, Availability of Gene Tests Could Broadenby Andrew Pollack, The New York TimesJune 13th, 2013Almost immediately after the Supreme Court ruled that human genes could not be patented, several laboratories announced they, too, would begin offering genetic testing for breast cancer risk.

Reactions to the Supreme Court Ruling Against Myriadby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesJune 13th, 2013The unanimous Supreme Court decision that human genes may not be patented was greeted with enthusiasm by the large coalition of plaintiffs and supporters, while the losers tried to put a brave face on it.

Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patentedby Adam Liptak, The New York TimesJune 13th, 2013Isolated human genes may not be patented, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday.

Infertility Due to Old Eggs? An Anti-Aging Pioneer Ponders Solutionsby Melissa Healy, Los Angeles TimesJune 5th, 2013Scientists draw on advances across many fields to propose a way to rejuvenate aging human eggs using a woman's own ovarian stem cells.

Cancer Inc.by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesMay 28th, 2013Angelina Jolie’s widely discussed op-ed about her preventative double mastectomy glosses over the impact of one company’s patent on the “breast cancer genes” as well as alternative choices that are available to women who have mastectomies.

Leading Scientist Attacks University Over 'Outrageous' IVF Treatment Patentby Robin McKie, The GuardianMay 25th, 2013The patent, which covers the duration of the first three cell cycles in a human embryo, encroaches on a naturally occurring phenomenon.

Angelina Jolie and the One Percentby Gayle Sulik, Scientific AmericanMay 20th, 2013Jolie's revelation has sparked a flurry of useful discussion, but we should remember an important caveat about her situation: it doesn’t apply to most women.

Angelina Jolie and the Fate of Breast Cancer Genes[Quotes CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]by Alexandra Le Tellier, Los Angeles TimesMay 14th, 2013Angelina Jolie described her double mastectomy as a way to gain control over mutations in her "breast cancer genes," but how much control we have over BRCA1 and BRCA2, and human genes in general, is yet to be determined.

Patenting Parthenotes: High Court Asks if Parthenotes are 'Human Embryos' Under the Biotech Directiveby Antony Blackburn-Starza, BioNewsApril 29th, 2013The UK's High Court has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to clarify if human parthenotes fall under the definition of a human embryo for the purposes of patentability.

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