profession
Gene patent case begins
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 8, 2010
A federal court was scheduled to hear oral arguments Feb. 2 in a case that could decide the scope of patentability of human genes.
A group of pathologists, researchers and patients were to argue to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that a company's patents on two genes tied to breast and ovarian cancer are invalid because they cover natural phenomena.
The case stirred the medical community over concerns that broad patents could hinder medical research and access to care. The Litigation Center of the American Medical Association and State Medical Societies joined several medical organizations in filing a friend-of-the-court brief arguing against broad medical patents. The case is Assn. for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/08/prbf0208.htm.
