Ethical Concerns Block Patents of Useful Embryonic Advances
By Antonio Regelado and Meera Louis,
The Wall Street Journal
| 08. 20. 2001
As the science of cloning and embryonic stem cells advances at a
breathtaking pace, universities and companies are seeking sweeping
patent claims over the new technologies. In the US , patent applications
in these two areas have jumped 300% in just the last year.
But ethical prohibitions embodied in patent law in the US and Europe
are preventing scientists from securing patents on some pioneering
biological inventions.
At issue in the US is the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which
abolished slavery. Patent documents show that the legal prohibition
against owning humans has complicated efforts by Geron Corp. and closely
held Advanced Cell Technology Inc. to patent medical uses of human
cloning technology.
On the other side of the Atlantic, where mistrust of biotechnology
runs deeper, the European Patent Office has put the whole field of
embryonic stem cells on hold. Christian Gugerell, director of biotechnology
at the European Patent Office, says his examiners are delaying issuing
patents related to embryonic stem cells until an ethics committee
established by the European Commission issues recommendations on topics
that include the definition...
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