News and Analysis • Volume • Number • 8th July 2004

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE UPHOLDS HARVARD MOUSE PATENT

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The European Patent Office (EPO) on 6 July upheld a pan-European patent on a mouse that has been genetically modified to develop cancer. The ruling applies to mice only, not all species of rodents. The patent, which had been granted to Harvard University in 1992, had been challenged by a collection of church, environmental and animal protection groups over concerns that it violated the dignity of living beings. The EPO acknowledged concerns over ethical issues and animal rights, but also said the medical uses of the patent must be considered. Christopher Then of Greenpeace expressed regrets that the EPO had not backed off on recognising patents for mammals, but nevertheless welcomed the ruling’s restriction to mice as an “important partial success”. While the genetically modified mouse was granted a patent in the US in 1988, Canada’s supreme court ruled in 2002 that the mouse cannot be patented under current Canadian law.

“Europe upholds patent on altered mouse,” AP, 6 July 2004.