The Doctor Who Will Own Your Medical Future
In the 1990s, a single company began quietly patenting fragments of the human genome, sparking a legal fight over whether anyone could own a piece of you. The ruling that followed still shapes who profits from your DNA — and the next battle, over synthetic biology, is already forming.
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The Supreme Court ruled that naturally occurring human DNA is a discovery rather than a patentable invention.
Myriad Genetics once held a monopoly on breast cancer testing by claiming ownership of isolated human genes.
Synthetic cDNA remains eligible for patent protection because it is not a naturally occurring biological product.
The Broad Institute won a major patent dispute for using CRISPR gene-editing tools in complex eukaryotic cells.
Biotech firms now use trade secrets and proprietary software to protect their diagnostic workflows and data.
International patent rights for CRISPR were lost in Europe due to technical errors in priority chain paperwork.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Myriad Monopoly3 min
- 03The Line in the Sand2 min
- 04The CRISPR Thicket3 min
- 05Engineering the Future2 min
- 06Outro1 min
- Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.
- Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics - PMC - NIH
- Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.
- AMP v. Myriad: The Fight to Take Back Our Genes | ACLU
- Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics | American Civil Liberties Union
- The Myriad Decision: A Move toward Trade Secrets?
- PTAB Upholds Priority Win for Broad Institute in CRISPR Patent Case
- Synthego Welcomes Supreme Court Order Finalizing Invalidation of ...
- Agilent Technologies, Inc. v. Synthego Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2025)
- Composition and method for high-multiplexed genome engineering using synthetic crispr arrays
- Court reignites CRISPR patent dispute
- Biotechnology Patents 2026: The Key Pitfalls Regarding ...
- Editas Medicine Announces U.S. Patent and Trademark ...
- U.C. Regents v. Broad Institute: Federal Circuit Faults PTAB for ...
- From Lab to Patent Office: The Journey of Synthetic Organisms ...
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