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Cite as:  569 U. S. ____ (2013) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 12–398 
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ASSOCIATION FOR MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY, 

ET AL., PETITIONERS v. MYRIAD 

GENETICS, INC., ET AL. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 

APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT
 

[June 13, 2013] 

JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court. 
Respondent  Myriad  Genetics,  Inc.  (Myriad),  discovered
the  precise  location  and  sequence  of  two  human  genes, 
mutations of which can substantially increase the risks of
breast  and  ovarian  cancer.    Myriad  obtained  a  number
of  patents  based  upon  its  discovery.    This  case  involves 
claims  from  three  of  them  and  requires  us  to  resolve
whether a naturally occurring segment of deoxyribonucleic 
acid  (DNA)  is  patent  eligible  under  35  U. S. C.  §101  by
virtue of its isolation from the rest of the human genome. 
We  also  address  the  patent  eligibility  of  synthetically 
created DNA known as complementary DNA (cDNA), which 
contains  the  same  protein-coding  information  found  in
a  segment  of  natural  DNA  but  omits  portions  within  the 
DNA  segment  that  do  not  code  for  proteins.    For  the  rea-
sons  that  follow,  we  hold  that  a  naturally  occurring  DNA 
segment  is  a  product  of  nature  and  not  patent  eligible
merely  because  it  has  been  isolated,  but  that  cDNA  is
patent  eligible  because  it  is  not  naturally  occurring.    We, 
therefore, affirm in part and reverse in part the decision of