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Human Gene Patent Challenged In Australian Court

Posted by kdawson on from the if-they-can-patent-leather dept.

dov_0 writes "Following a successful patent challenge in the US, an action is underway in Australia to have patents on two breast cancer genes declared invalid."

5 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. May be missing the point of the patent system by Drakkenmensch · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Aren't patents supposed to protect inventions rather than just discoveries of something that exists already? Or are they claiming that they created those breast cancer genes in labs and forcefully injected it in their test subjects?

    1. Re:May be missing the point of the patent system by confused+one · · Score: 5, Informative

      No, it's an existing gene. The patent usually works by stating the gene in question has been determined to do x and they write the patent so it loosly covers anything that might interact with that gene to alter or manipulate its function, hence they effectivly hold a patent on the gene.

    2. Re:May be missing the point of the patent system by davester666 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes. Now float off my lawn.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  2. Re:Investors Flee the Scene by confused+one · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A little voice in the back of my mind is saying that cancer research is something that should be backed with my tax dollars, such that they are.

  3. No.... by copponex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Government dollars are for difficult projects that improve our lives, like trillion dollar wars, multi million dollar arms sales to future enemies we'll fight in trillion dollar wars, and so forth.

    Easy things like cancer research that carry zero benefit for the population at large should be privately owned forever by unaccountable tyrannies. Not only do we spend billions of dollars on erectile dysfunction research and marketing instead of cancer, but the drug companies also get to spend two to four times more money for marketing than research, which results in lots of awesome TV commercials.

    It's a win-win!