"Gene Patent" Controversy Comes To Canada

Patents related to isolated DNA corresponding to a gene, as well as methods claiming the diagnostic use of such DNA sequences are often referred to as "Gene Patents". Gene Patents have recently been controversial and garnered significant publicity in the United States where patents relating to breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, have been contested. In June 2013, the United States Supreme Court invalidated claims to isolated BRCA1/BRCA2 DNA that did not differ from the naturally occurring gene holding "that genes and the information they encode are not patent eligible....[s]imply because they have been isolated from the surrounding genetic material".¹ See previous post for further details. The bounds and impact of the holding are currently unclear. Although method claims using the isolated DNA were not invalidated by the Supreme Court, the U.S. patent office has struggled on how to implement the decision in light of other jurisprudence resulting in