The fear that human gene patents pose a threat to whole-genome sequencing is based largely on widely held misconceptions.
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References
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More specifically, they conducted an automated search to identify all US patents reciting the canonical term “SEQ ID NO.” in the claims, and wherein the “SEQ ID NO.” term is used in conjunction with a specific genetic sequence corresponding to a known human gene. Jensen & Murray's Supporting Online Material, available at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/310/5746/239/DC1/1 (last visited January 16, 2012).
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The query employed by Jensen & Murray identified as 'gene patents' patents that claimed proteins by reference to the DNA sequence encoding the protein, or by reference to a SEQ ID NO. that identified not only a DNA sequence, but also the amino acid sequence encoded by the DNA sequence.
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Acknowledgements
This research was conducted with financial support from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The design, analysis and composition of this manuscript was conducted independently by me, and I am responsible for any errors or omissions. The views and conclusions expressed herein are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIO or any of its members. I am grateful to K. Jensen and F. Murray for sharing their patent data, and R. Cook-Deegan for helpful commentary.
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Holman, C. Debunking the myth that whole-genome sequencing infringes thousands of gene patents. Nat Biotechnol 30, 240–244 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2146
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