Law Commons^™

Patents For Genes And Methods Of Analysis And Comparison, Justine Pila

Justine Pila

In March 2010, a United States (U.S.) District Court held that isolated human genes are “products of nature”, and methods of analysis and comparison “abstract mental processes”, for which a US patent cannot validly be granted. Its decision undermined U.S. patent granting practices, and widens the gap between U.S. and European law on what constitutes inherently patentable subject matter (“inventions”) and a proportionate patent grant. In this note I consider the case – AMP v USPTO – and its implications for European patent law.