Comment & Debate
According to the US government’s Human Genome Project website, “In general, raw products of nature are not patentable. DNA products usually become patentable when they have been isolated, purified, or modified to produce a unique form not found in nature.”[1]
Kevin E. Noonen. “Falsehoods, Distortions and Outright Lies in the Gene Patenting Debate”:”The patents claiming genes do not claim products of nature. The simple distinction is that gene claims recite that the genes are “isolated,” thereby putting to rest the canard that a patent holder may ask for a royalty from you because your liver is “using” a patented gene. The cDNA copies of genes that form the basis for human gene patenting are “made by man” and not products of nature because they do not exist in nature prior to being synthesized in a test tube by a scientist.”