Law and Science Collide Over Human Gene Patents.

The author discusses an August 2012 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on the Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) vs. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Myriad Genetics lawsuit regarding the patenting of BRCA cancer genes. The CAFC ruled that engineered DNA could be patented, but the judges disagreed about the patentibility of isolated DNA molecules found in nature. The author also looks at the pending appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.