Association for Molecular Pathology, et al., Petitioners v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al. (569 U.S. 576)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 13, 2013 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 569 U.S. 576 · 133 S. Ct. 2107
- Decided
- June 13, 2013
- Term
- October Term 2012
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed and reversed (or vacated) in part and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondent Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad), discovered the precise location and sequence of two human genes, mutations of which can substantially increase the risks of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad obtained a number of patents based upon its discovery. This case involves claims from three of them and requires us to resolve whether a naturally occurring segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 by virtue of its isolation from the rest of the human genome. We also address the patent eligibility of synthetically created DNA known as complementary DNA (cDNA), which contains the same protein-coding information found in a segment of natural DNA but omits portions within the DNA segment that do not code for proteins. For the reasons that follow, we hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but that cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring. We, therefore, affirm in part and reverse in part the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. I A Genes form the basis for hereditary traits in living organisms. See generally Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, 702 F.Supp.2d 181, 192-211 (S.D.N.Y.2010). The human genome…
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