(Newswire.net — June 13, 2013) Portland, OR — The Supreme Court has issued a unanimous ruling that human genes cannot be patented. The immediate outcome is that currently issued patents will be invalidated.
Myriad Genetics had claimed that they owned the rights to the BRC breast cancer gene and that no research could proceed without receiving royalty payments.
According to Justice Thomas “Myriad did not create anything. To be sure, it found an important and useful gene, but separating that gene from its surrounding genetic material is not an act of invention.”
That apparent point apparently was lost on the lower courts which seems to favor corporate domination.
Before this decision, gene patents had restricted research and created medical monopolies that raised prices for consumers. “The decision represents a victory for cancer patients, researchers and geneticists who claimed that a single company’s patent raised costs, restricted research and sometimes forced women to have breasts or ovaries removed without sufficient facts or second opinions” per USA Today.
The ACLU, which argued the case before the Court, said, “By invalidating these patents, the Court lifted a major barrier to progress in further understanding how we can better treat and prevent diseases.”
This decision will be a huge loss for biotech and pharmaceutical industries and appears to end the steam roller of total domination over all forms of life on the planet through monopoly patent protection
Clearly this decision is a great victory for humankind because it prevents the medical and biotech corporations from claiming ownership over genetic sequences that already occur in nature.
Additionally the ruling means the biotech industry cannot patent common plants and animals, human body parts or human gene sequences. They can still patent synthetically-created genes, but that’s something they would actually need to create first rather than simply “discovering” an already-existing organism.
So now men and women will have access to much less expensive testing for gene sequences in their own bodies. Currently, women who want to test themselves for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes must pay as much as $4,000 for the test because of the monopoly “ownership”. But since these patents are invalid, prices for the test should dramatically fall as competition enters the picture. Hopefully, the test could eventually be offered for as little as $100.
Other companies can now conduct research on those genes without first seeking permission from Myriad. This should spur more innovation, possibly leading to more advanced genetic analysis tests that may help people better understand their own health risks and even spur them on to change their diet and lifestyle choices.
The ruling confirms that corporations cannot patent naturally-occurring things which have been in existence for thousands of years.
The ACLU clearly took the lead on the issue and credit belongs to them for this victory.
The ACLU wrote: We celebrate the Court’s ruling as a victory for civil liberties, scientific freedom, patients, and the future of personalized medicine. It also demonstrates the power of creating alliances and fighting for the public interest. The ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation filed the case four years ago on behalf of twenty plaintiffs, including organizations representing over 150,000 medical professionals, geneticists, breast cancer and women’s health advocacy groups, and patients. Few thought we had a chance against the decades-long Patent Office practice as well as the entrenched industry position. But litigation can be a strong tool in producing change, never more than when diverse communities come together. Here, the medical, scientific, and patient communities united, and were soon joined by many others, eventually including the U.S. government. We honor the contributions everyone made to our success today.
Author: Google+ Jan Johansen