In the UK, the Patents Regulations 2000 confirmed and clarified that inventions concerning biological material, including gene sequences, may be legitimately the subject of patent applications. In other words, these Regulations have established beyond doubt the legitimacy of biotechnology patents in the UK.
"An invention shall not be considered unpatentable solely on the grounds that it concerns (a) a product consisting of or containing biological material; or (b) a process by which biological material is produced, processed or used" - [Paragraph 1, Schedule A2 to the Patents Act 1977].
Universally, it is an established practice that a natural substance which has been isolated for the first time and which had no previously recognized existence, does not lack novelty because it has always been present in nature. It is generally agreed, and it is particularly relevant in the field of biotechnology, that a patent should not be granted merely because the applicant had been involved in laborious and costly effort.
Patenting of Micro-organisms in China
Claims for micro-organisms per se are allowed in China. DNA sequences are considered to be
large chemical compounds, and may be patented as compositions of matter. Although patent
claims to naturally occurring DNA sequences might be expected to trigger the
‘products of nature’ rule, courts have upheld patent claims covering
‘purified and isolated’ DNA sequences as new compositions of matter resulting
from human intervention. An excised gene is eligible for a patent as a composition of
matter or as an article of manufacture because that DNA molecule does not occur in that
isolated form in nature; or synthetic DNA preparations are eligible for patents because
their purified state is different from the naturally occurring compound.
Patenting of Micro-organisms in Europe
The European Union has defined "'biological material" instead of
"micro-organism", as under [Article 2.1 (a)]
"Biological material means any material containing genetic information and capable of
reproducing itself or being reproduced in a biological system"
In Plant Genetic Systems application (T356/93) European Board of Appeal was seized with
the question as to what is meant by the term 'micro-organism' The Board held that a
micro-organism would include bacteria, yeast, fungi, algae, protozoa, plasmids and
viruses, but also animal or plant cells and generally all unicellular entities with
dimensions beneath the limits of human vision.
Rule 23e indicates what is and is not patentable with respect to the human body. The human
body and its elements cannot be patented. However, elements of the body, when isolated
from the body, may be patented.
Patenting of Micro-organisms in Japan
In 1997, the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) published its ‘Implementing Guidelines for
Inventions in Specific Fields’. Inventions in the biotechnology field in the
Guidelines are divided into four types: genetic engineering, micro-organisms, plants and
animals. Inventions relating to genetic engineering include those of a gene, a vector, a
recombinant vector, a transformant, a fused cell, a recombinant protein, and a monoclonal
antibody. Inventions relating to micro-organisms include micro-organisms per se as well as
those relating to the use of micro-organisms.
In Japan, micro-organism means yeast, molds, mushrooms, bacteria, actinomycetes,
unicellular algae, viruses, protozoa, etc. and further includes undifferentiated animal or
plant cells as well as animal or plant tissue cultures.
Patenting of Micro-organisms in USA
Art. 35 USC Sec 101 of the US patent law states: whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufactures, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent thereof…"
In USA, utility requirement in respect of biotech inventions are very strict. A discovery that is not a creation does not meet the requirement of utility. A newly discovered micro-organism existing in nature, a newly discovered plant per se are discoveries because they do not involve creativity.
Inventions that are incapable of industrial application do not meet the requirement of utility. Inventions of a gene, a vector, a recombinant vector, a transformant, a fused cell, a recombinant protein and a monoclonal antibody whose utility is not described in a specification or cannot be inferred, do not meet the requirement of utility. An invention of a micro-organism per se, a plant per se or an animal per se whose utility is not described or cannot be inferred does not meet the requirement of utility.
Patenting of Micro-organisms in Australia
The Australian patent law defines invention as "any new manner of manufacture."
The question of patents for living organisms was considered at length in Ranks Hovis
McDougall Ltd.'s Application [1976 A OJP 3915] and the Court held that:
No objection can be taken to a claim to a new organism on the ground that it is something
living;
Any new variants claimed must have improved or altered useful properties and not merely
have changed morphological characteristics which have no effect on the working of the
organism; and
Naturally occurring micro-organisms per se are not patentable as they represent a
discovery and not an invention, but a claim to a pure culture in the presence of some
specified ingredients would satisfy the requirement of a technical intervention.
The guidelines for a micro-organism in Australian Patent Law states, "what is discovered in nature without any practical application, is a mere chemical curiosity"' and is not patentable [Part 8.2.5.3 Australian Manual of Patent Practice]. However, isolated micro-organisms are considered patentable.
Patenting Practices of Micro-organism in Brazil
Article 10 states that the following shall not be considered inventions or utility models:
"all or part of natural living beings and biological materials found in nature or
isolated there from, including the genome or the germ plasm of any natural living being
and any natural biological process."
Article 18 states that the following should not be patentable:
"living beings, in whole or in part, except for transgenic micro-organisms meeting
the three requirements of patentability - novelty, inventive step and industrial
application - in accordance with Article 8 and which are not mere discoveries."
For the purposes of this law, transgenic micro-organisms mean organisms, except for plants
or animals in whole or in part, that due to direct human intervention in their genetic
composition express a characteristic that cannot normally be achieved by the species under
natural conditions.