Whither gene patenting and the patenting of diagnostic methods post- Mayo and Myriad ? The need for certainty in navigating the high seas of policy.

This paper is prompted by a series of recent high-profile decisions emanating from the apex courts in the US and Australia – namely,MayoandMyriad– on the patent eligibility of gene-based inventions. Adopting a comparative approach, this paper critically examines whether isolated gene sequences and diagnostic methods qualify as patentable subject matter in several leading jurisdictions, including the US, Australia, Europe and the UK. An attempt will also be made, after carefully considering various arguments on both sides of the policy debate, at predicting what the future might hold (or, perhaps more accurately, at suggesting what the future ought to be) for gene patenting and the patenting of diagnostic methods in the global biotechnology landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]