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ARTICLE · 24 JUNE 2013

Naturally Occurring DNA Is Not Patentable

Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis
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On June 13, 2013, in a seminal case on the patentability of the genetic code, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that "naturally occurring DNA … is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but that cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring."

United StatesIntellectual Property
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP

On June 13, 2013, in a seminal case on the patentability of the genetic code, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that "naturally occurring DNA ... is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but that cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring." See Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. (2013).

While the Myriad decision is anticipated to bring a sea change in how patent claims covering genetic material are drafted, it is important to note what the case does and does not effect:

  • The decision only directly impacts claims directed to compositions of matter; not method claims directed to the use of isolated genes.

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