Life-form patent arguedIn 1980, arguments were heard by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning whether a patent could be issued for a genetically-engineered bacterium in the case of Diamond vs. Chakrabarty. On 16 Jun 1980, in a landmark decision, the judges held five to four that the Patent Office should recognize "any" new and useful "manufacture" or "composition of matter," and that the fact that micro-organisms are alive was without legal significance in the related patent law. Microbiologist, Ananda Chakrabarty had appealed the rejection of his 1972 patent application for a human-made, genetically engineered bacterium capable of breaking down crude oil, which no naturally occurring bacteria could do. The patent was eventually issued 31 Mar 1981.«[Image: the patented Burkholderia cepacia bacterium; inset: Chakrabarty] |
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