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Science 14 October 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5746, pp. 239 - 240
DOI: 10.1126/science.1120014
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Policy Forum

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
Enhanced: Intellectual Property Landscape of the Human Genome

Kyle Jensen and Fiona Murray*

The impact of gene patents on downstream research and innovation are unknown, in part because of a lack of empirical data on the extent and nature of gene patenting. In this Policy Forum, the authors show that 20% of human gene DNA sequences are patented and that some genes are patented as many as 20 times. Unsurprisingly, genes associated with health and disease are more patented than the genome at large. The intellectual property rights for some genes can become highly fragmented between many owners, which suggests that downstream innovators may face considerable costs to gain access to gene-oriented technologies.

K. Jensen is in the Department of Chemical Engineering, F. Murray is in the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

*Author for correspondence. E-mail: fmurray{at}mit.edu

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