Wired.com has the scoop:
A federal judge ruled Monday that a lawsuit can move forward against the Patent and Trademark Office and the research company that was awarded exclusive rights to human genes known to detect early signs of breast and ovarian cancer.
The first-of-its-kind lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law claims that the patents violate free speech by restricting research.
Three cheers for the judge!
More to read (along with documents and decision from the case) can be found HERE.
UPDATE: CourthouseNews.com has more interesting tidbits regarding the lawsuit HERE.
While I'm not generally anti-IP, certain gene patenting provisions and practices do appear to call into question whether some gene patenting (and even some "green" patenting) adequately meets constitutional standards. After all,
patent law ostensibly exists to serve the public interest. This is a debate that will, I believe, only grow more heated as time passes and more cases arise. I look forward to a thorough airing of the many significant issues raised by the practice of gene patenting.
Courthouse news wrote:"
Researchers in 1990 identified the BRCA1 and BRCA 2 genes as having a correlation with breast cancer susceptibility. The researchers subsequently formed Myriad and patented the genes."
#You should not be able to patent genes, they are a part of nature.
Courthouse News wrote: "They discovered that although everyone carries BRCA genes, certain mutations in the genes are correlated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and may be associated with other cancers, such as those of the prostate and pancreas."
#You should not be able to patent a correlation, it is part of nature.
Courthouse News wrote: "The complaint also names the University of Utah Research Foundation as a defendant. The university, along with Myriad, based in Salt Lake City, holds the patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes."
#Did the University of Utah receive public funding for this research? If so, it should be in the public domain.
Courthouse News wrote: "Myriad is the sole clinical provider of full sequencing of the BRCA genes in the United States."
#How can you get a patent on the organization of a natural product?
Myriad may be entitled to patenting a specific test. However, others should be allowed to develop/use their own specific tests. Myriad is not entitled to stop others from developing or using complimentary tests based on knowledge that should be in the public domain. Our patent system is broken.
The first-of-its-kind lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law claims that the patents violate free speech by restricting research.
camisa do flamengo 
