PATENTING GENES AND GENETIC RESEARCH TOOLS: Good or Bad for Innovation?

Our goal with this article is to inform the debate over gene patenting, by providing an understanding of (a) the scope of patent claims that are actually being issued on genetic inventions in the United States, (b) the issues that impact their enforcement, and (c) the role that patents and patent licensing play in the commercialization of genetic technologies and products. We conclude by discussing whether the current legal regime effectively balances the beneficial role of patents in the development of new genetic technologies and products against negative impacts on genetic research or clinical genetic testing, or whether the current laws should be amended.