Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/12pdf/12-398_1b7d.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2012 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued.
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

ASSOCIATION FOR MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY ET AL. 
v. MYRIAD GENETICS, INC., ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT 

No. 12–398.  Argued April 15, 2013—Decided June 13, 2013 

Each  human  gene  is  encoded  as  deoxyribonucleic  acid  (DNA),  which 
takes  the  shape  of  a  “double  helix.”    Each  “cross-bar”  in  that  helix 
consists of two chemically joined nucleotides.  Sequences of DNA nu-
cleotides contain the information necessary to create strings of amino 
acids  used  to  build  proteins  in  the  body.    The  nucleotides  that  code 
for amino acids are “exons,” and those that do not are “introns.”  Sci-
entists  can  extract  DNA  from  cells  to  isolate  specific  segments  for 
study.    They  can  also  synthetically  create  exons-only  strands  of  nu-
cleotides known as complementary DNA (cDNA).  cDNA contains only the 
exons that occur in DNA, omitting the intervening introns. 

Respondent  Myriad  Genetics,  Inc.  (Myriad),  obtained  several    pa-
tents  after  discovering  the  precise  location  and  sequence  of  the 
BRCA1  and  BRCA2  genes,  mutations  of  which  can  dramatically  in-
crease the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.  This knowledge allowed 
Myriad to determine the genes’ typical nucleotide sequence, which, in 
turn,  enabled  it  to  develop  medical  tests  useful  for  detecting  muta-
tions  in  these  genes  in  a  particular  patient  to  assess  the  patient’s 
cancer  risk.    If  valid,  Myriad’s  patents  would  give  it  the  exclusive
right to isolate an individual’s BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, and would 
give Myriad the exclusive right to synthetically create  BRCA cDNA.
Petitioners filed suit, seeking a declaration that Myriad’s patents are
invalid under 35 U. S. C. §101.  As relevant here, the District Court 
granted  summary  judgment  to  petitioners,  concluding  that  Myriad’s 
claims  were  invalid  because  they  covered  products  of  nature.    The 
Federal  Circuit  initially  reversed,  but  on  remand  in  light  of  Mayo 
Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U. S. ___, 
the Circuit found both isolated DNA and cDNA patent eligible.