Myriad Voices Against Gene Patents in the High Court

McCallum L, Faunce TA Myriad Voices Against Gene Patents in the High Court (2015) JLM 23(2):322-9

8 Pages Posted: 29 Oct 2018

See all articles by Lucas McCallum

Lucas McCallum

Australian National University (ANU)

Thomas Alured Faunce

Australian National University

Date Written: 2015

Abstract

The Australian High Court’s recent landmark decision in D’Arcy v Myriad Genetics Inc overturned the decision by the Federal Court in Cancer Voices Australia v Myriad Genetics Inc regarding patenting of genetic material. The Federal Court had found that isolated DNA and RNA can constitute a patentable invention under s 18(1)(a) of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth). The decision by the High Court unanimously reversed this and declared it was appropriate to look to the policy implications at the heart of the legal question: are genes a category of things that can be patented? This column critically examines the implications of the High Court decision for both research and public health in Australia.

Note: This article was first published by Thomson Reuters in the Journal of Law and Medicine and should be cited as ‘McCallum L, Faunce TA, Myriad Voices Against Gene Patents in the High Court, 2015, 23, JLM, 322’.

This publication is copyright. Other than for the purposes of and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), no part of it may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Limited. PO Box 3502, Rozelle NSW 2039.

Keywords: Gene Patents, DNA Patents, RNA Patents, Public Health

JEL Classification: I18, K32

Suggested Citation

McCallum, Lucas and Faunce, Thomas Alured, Myriad Voices Against Gene Patents in the High Court (2015). McCallum L, Faunce TA Myriad Voices Against Gene Patents in the High Court (2015) JLM 23(2):322-9, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3241861

Lucas McCallum

Australian National University (ANU) ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

Thomas Alured Faunce (Contact Author)

Australian National University ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia
61 2 61253563 (Phone)

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