The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that naturally occurring human genes, even when isolated from the body, are not patentable.
The decision came in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., decided on June 13, 2013. Myriad had isolated and identified the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene sequences and claimed patents covering them. The Court held that merely separating DNA from its surrounding chromosome does not make it an invention: the genetic information remains a product of nature.
The ruling was narrower than the shorthand “human genes cannot be patented” suggests. The Court did not invalidate every biotechnology patent involving genes. It held that complementary DNA, or cDNA, can generally be patent-eligible because laboratory processing removes non-coding regions and creates a molecule not ordinarily found in nature. The case also did not decide patents on new applications of genetic knowledge.
Another common confusion is the year 2008, when the underlying lawsuit began. The Supreme Court’s final ruling—and the year used for this question—was 2013.