The commercial viability of a biotechnology industry was significantly expanded on June 16, 1980, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a genetically modified microorganism could be patented in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty.
O campo da biotecnoloxía moderna pénsase que en gran medida empezou o 16 de xuño de 1980, cando o Tribunal Supremo dos Estados Unidos ditaminou que un microorganismo xeneticamente modificado podía ser patentado no caso de Diamond contra Chakrabarty.