Who owns genes and the other piece of DNA?
Contrary to what r jeezy says, no one but you owns the genes in your body. In general, one cannot patent a gene in its natural state. However, isolated copies of genes can be patented, and many have been. One can also patent specific uses of isolated genes. For example, take the leptin gene. This gene was discovered 10-15 years ago and appears to play a role in body mass, food intake, etc. It was considered very promising as a potential way to treat obesity. The isolated gene was patented by its discoverers, as was the protein, along with various uses of each to potentially treat obesity. You have two copies of the leptin gene in you and they make leptin protein. The above patents have no relevance to that. However, if you tried to isolate your own leptin gene, use it to make leptin protein outside your body, and possibly try to use that leptin protein as an obesity treatment, you would be infringing those patents and could be sued by the patent holders. (As it happens, the leptin gene
