BioNews volunteer writer, Dr Laura Riggall, alongside Jennifer Atkinson, discuss the guidance for research following the recent EPO Board of Appeal decision on the patentability of human-animal chimeras.
Dr Riggall, trainee patent attorney at Barker Brettell, London, and Atkinson, UK and European patent attorney and partner at Barker Brettell wrote: 'The decision provides rare and valuable guidance on how the morality exclusion under Article 53(a) EPC should be interpreted in the context of biotechnological inventions.'
The EPO board of appeal decided human-animal chimeras and processes to produce them are offensive to human dignity.
Read their article here.