Patenting SARS
Another one from the BBC News Online. Believe it or not, there is a race on to patent the genome for the virus that causes SARS. The British Columbia Cancer Society, which was the first one to unravel the virus' genome is racing to get patent rights for the virus, not to make millions off of it or prevent others from using it, but for the opposite. Increasingly, scientists are patenting genomes in order to prevent companies from staking such a claim and then preventing researchers from studies and developing vaccines. Scientists regard the unraveling of genome as a process of discovery and not an invention, therefore not patentable - but the patent offices of many countries, especially the US has managed to screw the world over.
Another one from the BBC News Online. Believe it or not, there is a race on to patent the genome for the virus that causes SARS. The British Columbia Cancer Society, which was the first one to unravel the virus' genome is racing to get patent rights for the virus, not to make millions off of it or prevent others from using it, but for the opposite. Increasingly, scientists are patenting genomes in order to prevent companies from staking such a claim and then preventing researchers from studies and developing vaccines. Scientists regard the unraveling of genome as a process of discovery and not an invention, therefore not patentable - but the patent offices of many countries, especially the US has managed to screw the world over.
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