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IP News

By Compiled by Kathlyn Card-Beckles

Congress Examines Ban on Patenting Human Organisms

Under a bill approved by the House of Representatives, the USPTO would be prohibited from issuing patents on human organisms. The provision would allow the USPTO to refuse to grant any application containing a claim that encompasses “any member of the species Homo sapiens at any stage of development.” The bill would codify existing USPTO rules regarding human organisms, but the ban would not interfere with stem cell research. Patents for cells, tissue and other biological products would not be affected, nor would the bill prevent patents for methods of creating biological products. Opponents of the bill argue that the provision would cripple research into therapeutic cloning and that the bill is unnecessary given the USPTO's policy on denying patents on subject matter encompassing human beings. The bill was approved in the House on Dec. 8, 2003 and awaits a vote in the Senate. See, e.g., www.bio.org.

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