You Don't 'Own' Your Own Genes

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

You Don't 'Own' Your Own Genes

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday March 26, 2013 @07:32AM from the brb-i-have-to-cancel-a-couple-ebay-auctions dept.

olePigeon (Wik) writes "Cornell University's New York based Weill Cornell Medical College issued a press release today regarding an unsettling trend in the U.S. patent system: Humans don't "own" their own genes, the cellular chemicals that define who they are and what diseases for which they might be at risk. Through more than 40,000 patents on DNA molecules, companies have essentially claimed the entire human genome for profit, report Dr. Christopher E. Mason of Weill Cornell Medical College, and the study's co-author, Dr. Jeffrey Rosenfeld, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey and a member of the High Performance and Research Computing Group, who analyzed the patents on human DNA. Their study, published March 25 in the journal Genome Medicine, raises an alarm about the loss of individual 'genomic liberty.'"

14 of 293 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Derivative Works by Anonymous Coward · 2013-03-26 07:36 · Score: 4, Funny

Careful, these guys are going to come after you for procreating next!
Think of the children! No, really.
1. Re:Derivative Works by Anonymous Coward · 2013-03-26 08:09 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Just be glad they patented them and didn't copyright them! patents only last 20 years, in two decades you'll own your genome again.
2. Re:Derivative Works by daremonai · 2013-03-26 08:53 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  So no one can have children until they turn 20? Clever way to end teen pregnancy.
3. Re:Derivative Works by mrops · 2013-03-26 09:57 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  So a DMCA takedown notice then
4. Re:Derivative Works by belthize · 2013-03-26 12:00 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Careful, these guys are going to come after you for procreating next!
  Now worries there. After watching things like Jersey Shore, the US Senate and most television shows it's pretty clear we're still amateurs.
Normally I wouldn't own my own genes... by mblase · 2013-03-26 07:36 · Score: 5, Funny

...but fortunately, I have complete legal ownership due to the grandfather clause.
1. Re:Normally I wouldn't own my own genes... by maxwell+demon · 2013-03-26 08:49 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  That only covers half of your genetic material because there's no grandmother clause.
  
  --
  The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Good by PPH · 2013-03-26 07:47 · Score: 5, Funny

If this is the case, Merck can send a cease and desist letter to that woman who copied my genome without permission and is now seeking child support payments.

--
Have gnu, will travel.
1. Re:Good by leonardluen · 2013-03-26 08:03 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Apparently his DRM was faulty
Re:Upcoming supreme court case by dpilot · 2013-03-26 07:54 · Score: 4, Funny

Let me get this straight.... If this patent is upheld, it will become illegal to pass along BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes to offspring.
We've found it - the cure to cancer!

--
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Re:Upcoming supreme court case by interkin3tic · 2013-03-26 08:20 · Score: 3, Funny

I'm going to be genuinely surprised if I don't have to pay licensing fees if I have a baby in the coming years.
This is slashdot: odds are we won't have to pay licensing fees no matter what they decide.
Re:Upcoming supreme court case by ChronoFish · 2013-03-26 08:36 · Score: 2, Funny

See Monsanto rulings...
Re:Upcoming supreme court case by CanHasDIY · 2013-03-26 09:11 · Score: 4, Funny

Pirate Babies FTW!!!
(points at own junk) DMCA this, motherfuckers!

--
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Re:Upcoming supreme court case by meta-monkey · 2013-03-26 11:46 · Score: 3, Funny

"Sir, ConglomeratedGenCo has issued a DMCA takedown request for your pants."

--
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.