Given the market's reaction to the announcement, it appears that the survival of many biotech companies depends on a wide breadth of gene sequence patents. If the scope of gene sequence patenting is limited, the growth potential of these companies could be as well. Many applaud a restriction on the patenting of gene sequences. They argue that such patenting is morally unacceptable. The human genome consists of the entire nucleotide sequence of DNA contained on all 23 pairs of somatic chromosomes as well as the single pair of sex chromosomes.
Nucleotides are the basic unit of the DNA molecule.
Nucleotides form genes, genes form proteins, the building blocks of life. To offer a patent on any given genetic sequence is said to give the patent holder an ownership stake in something that is fundamental to the life of every human being. In these regards, the debate over the open sharing of information attained by researchers working on the Human Genome Project will have vast commercial and moral consequences. At the heart of this debate is the fundamental understanding of what is patentable. Patent law is intended to encourage inventors to disclose their inventions by securing for them the exclusive right to prohibit others from making, using, or selling the invention for a prescribed period of time following the issuance of the patent.