Supreme Court of Canada Rules Against Patentability of Harvard Mouse

On December 5, 2002, the Canadian Supreme Court (SCC) allowed an appeal by the Commissioner of Patents from a decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, which had allowed the patenting of higher life forms. The Respondent had sought to patent a process for producing mice genetically altered to be "susceptible to cancer" (and thus suitable for carcinogenic studies) and the end product of the process (the mice and their offspring). The Commissioner allowed the process claims but refused the product claims; the Respondent in turn sought judicial recourse. In a split decision, the majority of the SCC judges ruled that a higher life form is not patentable because it is not a "manufacture" or "composition of matter" as required by the Canadian Patent Act. This decision marks a departure from the general trend of most jurisdictions to allow patents for higher life forms. For a copy of the decision, visit: http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/rec/texte/harvard.en.txt