New German Bio-patent law: Human gene sequences

Closely following the concern surrounding the new GM laws passed in Germany a futher biotech law, recently passed in the Bundestag, is causing concern from some analysts of the German biotech sector.

The update of the German biotechnology patent law, to enable compliance with a 1998 European directive, could possibly be in contradiction with the intent of the EU. This could mean further debate in the European Court of Justice, as the German law fails to give full patent protection to human gene sequence discoverers, creating a disparity with the rest of Europe.

Source: The Scientist, 10 December, 2004. Read the full articlehere.