"On June 13th 2013, the Supreme Court published their ruling
[supremecourt.gov] in the case, unanimously finding that isolated but otherwise unmodified genes were products of nature and therefore not patent eligible subject matter. However, the court did find that cDNA, synthetic DNA molecules that contain only the exons of a gene, do involve an inventive step, and thus remain patent eligible. The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, agreed with Judge Sweet's 2010 argument that the information content of a gene was as important as its chemical structure.
The court's opinion also agreed with a friend of the court brief, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the federal government when the case was before the Federal Circuit in 2011 (and again in a modified form when the case went before the Supreme Court in 2013). In this brief, the government took the position that isolated, but otherwise unmodified DNA should not be patent eligible, but that cDNA should be patent eligible. NIH and NHGRI are very pleased with the Supreme Court's ruling in this case, and the removal of serious potential roadblocks that could impede the widespread adoption of genomic medicine."
[supremecourt.gov] in the case, unanimously finding that isolated but otherwise unmodified genes were products of nature and therefore not patent eligible subject matter. However, the court did find that cDNA, synthetic DNA molecules that contain only the exons of a gene, do involve an inventive step, and thus remain patent eligible. The opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, agreed with Judge Sweet's 2010 argument that the information content of a gene was as important as its chemical structure.The court's opinion also agreed with a friend of the court brief, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the federal government when the case was before the Federal Circuit in 2011 (and again in a modified form when the case went before the Supreme Court in 2013). In this brief, the government took the position that isolated, but otherwise unmodified DNA should not be patent eligible, but that cDNA should be patent eligible. NIH and NHGRI are very pleased with the Supreme Court's ruling in this case, and the removal of serious potential roadblocks that could impede the widespread adoption of genomic medicine."
