Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Patents
  • Published:

The morality and ethics governing CRISPR–Cas9 patents in China

Nature Biotechnology volume 34, pages 616–618 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Chinese patent law may not be equipped to deal with the potential moral issues raised by gene-editing technology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Webber, P. Nat. Biotechnol. 32, 331–333 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bosley, K.S. et al. Nat. Biotechnol. 33, 478–486 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Garneau, J.E. et al. Nature 468, 67–71 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Deltcheva, E. et al. Nature 471, 602–607 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sapranauskas, R. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 39, 9275–9282 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jinek, M. et al. Science 337, 816–821 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Gasiunas, G., Barrangou, R., Horvath, P. & Siksnys, V. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 109, E2579–E2586 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Cong, L. et al. Science 339, 819–823 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Mali, P. et al. Science 339, 823–826 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Liang, P. et al. Protein Cell 6, 363–372 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 10, 9 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  12. May, A.P. et al. US Patent No. 9,260,752 (2016).

  13. Zhang, F. US Patent No. 8,697,359 (2014).

  14. SIPO patent database search for patent applications and patents containing the term “CRISPR/Cas9” in the title and first pages (searched on 21 June 2015). http://www.pss-system.gov.cn/sipopublicsearch/portal/index.shtml

  15. Zhang, Q. Strategy and Practice of Intellectual Property in the Fields of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology p.61 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 25, Paragraph 2.

  17. Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 11, Paragraph 1.

  18. Suzhou Tongshan Bio-Tech Co. Ltd. Chinese Patent application No. 201310610085.0 (2014).

  19. Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 5, Paragraph 1.

  20. European Patent Office. European Patent Convention, 15th edn. (EPO, 2013).

  21. European Parliament, Council of the European Union. Directive 98/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of July 6, 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions (6 July 1998).

  22. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 1, 3.1.1, paragraph 1 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  23. Zhang, Q. Strategy and Practice of Intellectual Property in the Fields of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology p.26 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Legal Affairs Department of the State Intellectual Property Office PRC. Explication to the Newly-adapted Patent Law p.26 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2001).

  25. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 1, 3.1.2, paragraph 1 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  26. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 1, 3.1.2, paragraph 2 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  27. Chen, X. Statement by the Representative of the People's Republic of China Mr. Chen Xu at the Ad Hoc Committee on the Convention Against the Reproductive Cloning of Human Beings http://www.china-un.org/eng/zghlhg/flsw/t28563.htm (26 February 2002).

  28. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 10, 9.1.1.2 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  29. State Intellectual Property Office PRC. in Guidelines for Patent Examination Part II, Ch. 1, 3.1.3 (Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2010).

  30. Li, W. & Cai, L. Nat. Biotechnol. 32, 1001–1003 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. World Intellectual Property Organization. in WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook: Policy, Law and Use Ch. 2, 17 http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/about-ip/en/iprm/pdf/ch2.pdf (WIPO, 2004).

  32. Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health of the PRC. Ethical Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research http://www.most.gov.cn/fggw/zfwj/zfwj2003/200512/t20051214_54948.htm (MOST, 2003).

  33. Ministry of Health of the PRC. Measures for the Ethical Review of Biomedical Research Involving the Human Body (for Trial Implementation) http://www.nhfpc.gov.cn/mohbgt/pw10702/200804/18816.shtml (MOH, 2007).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yaojin Peng is at the Institute for Globalization and International Regulation, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.,

    Yaojin Peng

Authors
  1. Yaojin Peng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yaojin Peng.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Table

Supplementary Table 1 (XLSX 34 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peng, Y. The morality and ethics governing CRISPR–Cas9 patents in China. Nat Biotechnol 34, 616–618 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3590

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3590

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing