BLOG: Many analogies, none quite right during Supreme Court genetic patent oral argument

Several analogies were used on April 15 during the Supreme Court oral arguments for the Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics trial. The court was considering whether human genes are patentable. Genes refer to a unit of DNA that is the blueprint for a functional component in an organism, and they were compared with components of chocolate chip cookies, a baseball bat, plants in the Amazon, and body organs. Probably none of these is right on target, but difficulty in finding an effective analogy to fit is no surprise (Read more...)

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