Gene Patents and the Public Interest: Litigating Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics and Lessons Moving Forward

Abstract

These remarks were prepared for the keynote speech delivered at the symposium "Gene Patents After Myriad," held by the North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology at the University of North Carolina School of Law on February 21, 2014. Sandra Park, senior attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union and counsel representing petitioners in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, discussed the development of the litigation challenging the patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating the patents, and lessons moving forward for public interest patent law advocacy.

Keywords: gene patents, patent law, public interest, civil liberties, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, BRCA, Myriad Genetics, women's health, ACLU