US lawmakers have reached an agreement on part of a bill that would ban patents on 'human organisms'. The compromise was sought following claims that the original language in the Commerce, Justice and State Department appropriations bill might 'intentionally or inadvertently' harm technologies using embryos or embryonic cells. The proposed legislation will now ban the patenting of genetically engineered human embryos, fetuses and human beings, but will not affect patents on genes, cells, tissues or other biological products.
The US Patent Office (USPTO) already has a policy that bars the patenting of human life-forms, but as yet, there is no legislation governing this issue. In July, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the appropriations bill, sponsored by David Weldon, that would ban patent claims on 'human organisms'. Despite changes later made by Senator Sam Brownback, the provision still provoked claims from supporters of embryo stem cell research that conservative lawmakers were seeking an 'overly broad' ban on patents involving human embryos. Speaking last week, Weldon said that an agreement had been worked out with Senators to make clear, in an accompanying report, that the patent ban would not interfere with stem cell research.
USPTO director James Rogan said that his office viewed the Weldon amendment as 'fully consistent with USPTO's policy on the non-patentability of human life-forms'. He said the measure gave 'unequivocal congressional backing' for a rule that bans the patenting of 'any member of the species Homo Sapiens at any stage of development'. Michael Werner, of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation, said that the final language of the bill appeared to be compatible with the goals of the biotech industry. 'Our companies are interested in being able to do stem cell research, regenerative medicine and the development of treatments for disease - not in getting patents on embryos' he said.
Sources and References
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Lawmakers agree on language banning human-organism patents
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Hill negotiators agree to bar patents for human organisms
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Lawmakers reach agreement on appropriations bill language barring patents on 'human organisms'
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