Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-10-04-Speech-4-188"
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"en.20011004.9.4-188"2
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"Mr President, once again there are problems with a patent granted by the European Patent Office. In March 2000 we discussed a patent for the manipulation of human cells and embryos; now we are confronted with a patent on human breast cancer genes.
Let me make it clear – and I repeat what I said earlier, including in speeches on Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions – a patent can and may only be obtained or granted for an invention and not for a discovery.
I urge the European Patent Office to adhere to this. Otherwise the entire human genome will be patented in the not too distant future! And what will the next step be: a modified cell, an organism? The mind boggles.
However, to get back to the patent on a breast cancer gene. So where does the problem actually lie? How can the European Patent Office grant a patent on a human gene? The answer is simple: because Directive 98/44/EC is being applied. Despite the well-known fact that only a few Member States have implemented this directive and in spite of the European Parliament's resolutions.
Why is Directive 98/44/EC so controversial? Let me explain again.
As a result of sloppy legislation, there is a contradiction in the directive. Let us not make it more complicated than it already is: Article 5.1 and Article 5.2 contradict each other. Article 5.1 reads: "The human body, at the various stages of its formation and development, and the simple discovery of one of its elements, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene, cannot constitute patentable inventions." Article 5.2 reads: "An element isolated from the human body or otherwise produced by means of a technical process, including the sequence or partial sequence of a gene, may constitute a patentable invention, even if the structure of that element is identical to that of a natural element." In other words, Article 5.1 says that genes should not be patented, whilst Article 5.2 says that a gene can be patented if it is isolated or produced by means of a technical process. However, all genes used by scientists are produced by means of a technical process. Let us therefore do our utmost to eliminate this inconsistency from Directive 98/44/EC.
I am against the European Patent Office taking these steps, not only because a patent on a gene runs counter to the concept of patenting. Another important consideration is that I regard life in all its facets and parts as God's creation. This also convinces me that a gene cannot be patented.
In March 2000, I said that Directive 98/44/EC would continue to provoke discussion. After heated debates in the temporary committee on human genetics and after today I can indeed say that my prediction was correct."@en1
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