In a case that could determine the fate of gene patents, a group of cancer patients, clinicians, researchers and activists have sued the US Patent and Trademark Office and the owners of patents on two genes associated with cancer.

The lawsuit, filed on 12 May, targets Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation, both based in Salt Lake City, and both of which own patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Certain mutations in these genes have been linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer but, because Myriad Genetics holds exclusive rights, diagnostic testing for these mutations can only be performed at Myriad labs.

The lawsuit asserts that patents on human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer are invalid and that they violate the US constitution. The lawsuit "does have a lot of potential", says Arti Rai, a law professor at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "But it's still a hard case to make."