[Upd-discuss] RAFI: gene patent mania

[Michael H. Davis]

And the patent office has proudly, if not even arrogantly, announced in
response to the statements by the U.S. and U.K. that genes should not be
the subject of patents, that it has no intention of changing its policy of
issuing such patents.


PRESS RELEASE #00-17
 March 16, 2000
									   
       CONTACT:
									   
		 Brigid Quinn
									   
		 703-305-8341


			     US PATENT POLICY UNAFFECTED BY US/UK STATEMENT
ON 
					    HUMAN GENE SEQUENCE DATA 

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) reaffirmed today that United States
patent policy remains unaffected by Tuesday's historic joint statement
issued by the
United States and the United Kingdom urging that "raw fundamental data on
the human genome...should be made freely available to scientists
everywhere." 

"Genes and other genomic inventions remain patentable," said Q. Todd
Dickinson, Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, "so long as they meet
the statutory
criteria of utility, novelty and non-obviousness. Genes and genomic
inventions that were patentable last week continue to be patentable this
week, under the same set
of rules," he added. 

Separate and apart from Tuesday's agreement between the United States and
the United Kingdom, the PTO published on December 21, 1999 revised interim
guidelines related to the utility requirement for patent claims on genomic
and other biotechnological inventions. These guidelines, which have been in
use for some
time, amplify and clarify the ground rules for establishing patentable
claims in this area. The 90-day public comment period on the guidelines
runs through March 22,
2000. 

The Utility Guidelines, and the related Written Description Guidelines, are
available on the PTO web site, www.uspto.gov. 

The PTO is the Commerce Department's user fee-funded bureau that
administers laws relevant to granting patents and registering trademarks.
The PTO also advises
the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the
Administration on patent, trademark and copyright protection, and on
trade-related aspects
of intellectual property. Over 6 million patents have been issued since the
first patent in 1790. Last year PTO issued 161,000 patents and registered
104,000
trademarks. 

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http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/speeches/00-17.htm