The US biotechnology industry's ability to patent genes, threatened by a lawsuit in which seven such patents were ruled invalid, seems safe again. Last March, a federal judge had ruled that patents for genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer were improperly granted, because they referred to isolated DNA that was a product of nature, and was therefore not patentable under US law. But on 29 July, a New York appeals court said that isolated DNA molecules were sufficiently distinct from their natural forms to be eligible for patent protection. The patents are held by Myriad Genetics, based in Salt Lake City, Utah; the issue is likely to require further judgments in higher courts. See go.nature.com/lhmdem for more.
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