Gene Patents in Australia

This article discusses the controversy surrounding gene patents in Australia. There is currently legislation up for debate that would ban patents on genes and gene sequences that occur in nature. Companies such as AusBiotech and Medicine Australia adamantly oppose this legislation. These companies do not dispute the idea "that the DNA sequences of humans exist without any intervention of man and thus are not considered inventions," and simply discovering a gene is not grounds for a patent. They require the demonstration of usefulness in order to gain a patent. They say that buy banning the ability to patent genes, may result in "life-altering products never being developed." At first glance, wanting to patent a gene seems ridiculous. These companies, however, make a good point. Unfortunately, money powers almost all of the decisions in the world. No company is going to want to partner in researching something if there isn't any monetary reward. If they are allowed to patent genes, there will be more incentive for research. Patenting genes could also have negative affects. If one company owns the patent, other companies are not going to want to participate in research, and then those "life-altering products" may never be developed. It is definitely a controversy with no right answers. I thought this article was interesting because it correlated with our discussion in class today.