There is ongoing legal challenge in the European Union regarding a number of human gene patents held by a U.S. corporation for sequences of two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, mutations in which indicate a predisposition to breast cancer. Specifically, the most recent oppositions challenge the patents...

Patent systems have traditionally operated to reward scientific innovation and discovery rather than the level and type of contribution of raw materials and other support. As U.S. and international patient advocacy groups continue to launch efforts to organize patients, collect and bank genetic...

Between 1980 and 2001, the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded over 8,000 patents on genes and genetic material, including at least 1,500 claiming sequences of human genetic material. Controversy over gene patents has arisen due to a variety of issues, including their relatively...