The specter of a ban on gene patents had spurred on the stampede. When the dust finally settled, one lesson emerged. And for this science to move forward, the biotech field will require unprecedented levels of investment. In fact, Ludlam insists that gene patents aren't patents on genes at all. This is, strictly speaking, a load of hooey.
Gene patents are in fact exactly what they sound like, patents on genes.
Ludlam tends to speak in absolutes, as one might expect the premier spinmeister for a multibillion-dollar industry to do. And if he isn't absolutely correct in asserting that gene patents are a chimeric straw man conjured by gene patenting's critics, neither is he absolutely wrong. United States patent law currently considers DNA a chemical, and chemicals are patentable. Because of his bluster, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Ludlam happens to be right that the United States patent system is absolutely the best way of advancing the genetic revolution. Patents encourage companies to bring products to market with due haste.