Biotechnology Patents

The other emerging trend in patent law is the increased interest in biotechnology patents. The seminal case in the field of biotechnology is Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 477 U.S. 303 (1980), which held that bioengineered bacteria were patentable. Since that decision, patents have issued for genetically altered mice, genetically altered food, and inventions involving human genes and DNA.

In one recent case, Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. v. J.E.M. Ag Supply Inc., 33 F. Supp. 2d 794 (N.D. Iowa 1999), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa held that seeds, as well as the plants grown from them, are patentable. Although the PTO had been granting plant and seed patents, the ruling in Pioneer firmly established ...

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