Patents and such
by William Jackson on 2010-06-17
I thought it appropriate that today is the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling Diamond v. Chakrabarty, wherein the Court found that man-made life is patentable.
The man-made life in question was a new species of genetically-engineered bacterium that breaks down crude oil.
Because of this property, which is possessed by no naturally occurring bacteria, Chakrabartyʼs invention is believed to have significant value for the treatment of oil spills.