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U.S. Denies Patent on Part-Human Hybrid

Posted by Zonk on from the teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-and-other-strangeness dept.

jimkski wrote to mention a Boston Globe story involving the refusal of a patent claim on a genetically engineered creature. From the article: "A New York scientist's seven-year effort to win a patent on a laboratory-conceived creature that is part human and part animal ended in failure Friday, closing a historic and somewhat ghoulish chapter in U.S. intellectual property law."

10 of 402 comments (clear)

  1. He would have won.. by EvilCabbage · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. if he'd hired Disneys lawyers.

    1. Re:He would have won.. by Stevyn · · Score: 4, Funny

      That'd be a conflict of interest. They already own patents on talking, human-like animals.

  2. Re:dare I say it? by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nah, this is more likely because of the republican administration and the likely implication of granting this patent.

    What? A bunch of human-monkey hybrids that will certainly vote Democrat?!

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  3. DAMN! by Sophrosyne · · Score: 4, Funny

    There goes my retirement plan!!
    I was going to have some kids, patent them... then collect royalties off them when they have kids...
    That way I could retire with relative ease.

    1. Re:DAMN! by kryptkpr · · Score: 4, Funny

      I shouldn't ask.. but which animal did you plan on having kids with?

      --
      DJ kRYPT's Free MP3s!
    2. Re:DAMN! by metlin · · Score: 5, Funny

      That way I could retire with relative ease.

      That's the *worst* pun I've ever heard. :-|

  4. This is great news by weave · · Score: 4, Funny
    Now that they didn't get a patent for their creature, it means other people can run out and build their own without having to worry about getting sued. Open source creatures are safe!

    Can't wait to get started on my perfect pet!

  5. what...?? by to_kallon · · Score: 5, Funny

    creature that is part human and part animal
    wow, talk about prior art.....

    --


    The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
    -Oscar Wilde
  6. Re:Wow - you had me at "US denies patent". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Nice to see - my faith in the Patent system has raised slightly from 'completely hopeless' to 'mostly hopeless'"

    Funny, my opinion went from 'harmless' tp 'mostly harmless'.

  7. Re:Frightening by king-manic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do we have a right to play God?

    We're not playing god. We're playing "code monkey". The language just happens to be DNA and we're reverse engineering a set of programs doen by a vastly supurior coder... sorta like a VB programmer trying to understand and modify the vi source code.

    --
    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."