U.S. Supreme Court: Human Genes Can't Be Patented

This was one of the big blockbuster cases that Court-watchers were expected.

Seems like a whimper more than a bang.

At the New York Times, "Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patented."

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a unanimous Court. Interesting.

See also SCOTUS Blog, "Details on Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.," and "Opinion recap: No patent on natural gene work":

In a way, the ruling was a silent tribute to screen actress Angelina Jolie, who recently gained huge notoriety not for her acting but for voluntarily having her breasts surgically removed after discovering that she had the threatening genes in her body. She, of course, was able to pay the high cost of that test; now, women of less means will be able to afford it, and that was a key motivation for challenging Myriad’s patent rights.

More at Memeorandum.