WIPO

• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Does not actually grant patents
• Clearing house for international patent applications
• Chapter I - search
• Chapter II - opinion
• National/Regional filing

Regional Offices

• Grant patents for a number of national jurisdictions
• Generally involve a central office and not a single national office
• Courts of the national jurisdictions have ultimate jurisdiction in deciding patentability

National Offices

• Grant patents in single jurisdiction
• Granted patents are based on national laws of patentable subject matter
• Jurisdiction within Regional Offices may follow the Regional Office decisions on patentable subject matter

United States

• Anything under the sun made by man is patentable - In re: Charkrabarty, 447 US 303 (1980)
• Supreme Court decision holding that genetically engineered organisms are patentable
• Both utility patents and plant patents are obtainable

U.S. Patentable Subject Matter

• Genetically engineered higher animals and plants e.g. the “oncomouse”
• Potentially partially sequenced biomolecules such as ESTs

EPO

• Biotechnology generally patentable
• Genes, proteins etc. are patentable
• EPO directive on Biotechnological Inventions

EPO Directive

Article 4 - Non-patentable

• plant and animal varieties
• essentially biological processes for the production of plant and animals

Article 5 - Non-patentable

• the human body
• simple discovery of one of life elements including genes and partial sequences of genes

Article 6 - Non-patentable

• Inventions contrary to public order and morality
• Such inventions include:
• processes for cloning human beings
• processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings
• uses of human embryos for commercial purposes
• processes modifying the genetic identity of animals which are likely to cause suffering without any substantial medical benefit to man or animal
• animals resulting from such processes

Eurasian Patent Office

• Biotechnology generally patentable
• Microorganisms are patentable
• Animal and plant varieties are not patentable
• Inventions contrary to public order and morality are not patentable

Japan

• Biotechnology generally patentable
• Microorganisms patentable
• Plants and animals are patentable
• Inventions contravening public order, morality or public health are non-patentable

Summary

• In the United States and Japan the patentability of biotechnology is given wide interpretation
• In the EPO the limitations of patentability are still being defined
• In the Eurasian Patent Office animals and plants are generally not patentable