P3D Re: Copyrights/patents

[John W Roberts <roberts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 08:17:17 -0600
>From: "Robert A. Schreiber" <bschreib@xxxxxxxx>
>Subject: P3D Copyrights/patents

>    Boy, if you think copyright law is confused - imagine owning life.
>Genetic patent law is a shambles.  If you isolate/purify a strand on
>DNA, it's yours !

>Bob Schreiber (PhD, ex-biochemist, too)

Regarding the specific issue of genetic sequencing of previously existing
organisms, I strongly expect that a court challenge would eventually
establish that if someone else does the sequencing all over again (with
proper documentation to show that it's not just a copy of the first person's
data), then the second person is free to use their own sequence data without
needing permission from the first person.

Analogy: someone can photograph the moon, digitize the photo, and own the data,
but that doesn't block anyone else from taking their own photo of the moon.
(Yes, I'm aware the issue in that case would be copyright law rather than
genetic patent law.)

If this point has not come up, it may be because genetic sequencing is
time-consuming, difficult, and expensive, and thus far it may have been more
cost effective just to pay licensing fees as needed, than to resequence.

The copyright and apostrophe debates have been fun, but maybe it's about
time to start heading back toward 3D. :-)

John R


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