Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303 (1980)
Chakrabarty created a genetically engineered bacterium that was capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil, and believed to be a significant step towards the treatment of oil spills. Both the patent examiner and the Board of Patent Appeals rejected claims to the bacteria itself under the conclusion that living things were not patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals reversed, and then it was the Supreme Court’s turn.
In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court explained that while natural laws, physical phenomena, abstract ideas, and newly discovered minerals or plants are not patentable, a live, artificially-engineered microorganism is. Ultimately, the Supreme Court held that creating a bacterium not found anywhere in nature "having a distinctive name, character [and] use" constitutes a patentable, nonnatural "manufacture" or "composition of matter" under Section 101. The Court ruled on narrow grounds – the primary concern was the man-made bacterium’s ability to break down crude oil, making it useful.
Chakrabarty created a genetically engineered bacterium that was capable of breaking down multiple components of crude oil, and believed to be a significant step towards the treatment of oil spills. Both the patent examiner and the Board of Patent Appeals rejected claims to the bacteria itself under the conclusion that living things were not patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals reversed, and then it was the Supreme Court’s turn.
In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court explained that while natural laws, physical phenomena, abstract ideas, and newly discovered minerals or plants are not patentable, a live, artificially-engineered microorganism is. Ultimately, the Supreme Court held that creating a bacterium not found anywhere in nature "having a distinctive name, character [and] use" constitutes a patentable, nonnatural "manufacture" or "composition of matter" under Section 101. The Court ruled on narrow grounds – the primary concern was the man-made bacterium’s ability to break down crude oil, making it useful.
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