Bonum Certa Men Certa

USPTO and EPO Faking Growth by Granting Patents on Everything in Nature, But Campaigners Strike Back

A hungry slug



Summary: The patent microcosm is eating the world; everything under the Sun must be patented, they insist, even life itself (so they can 'pirate' the Commons and then charge us a tax for 'access' or 'license' to it)

THE previous post spoke of illegal software patents being granted in Europe because the EPO is run by a former banker, President António Campinos, and his compatriot Battistelli, a dubious politician whose master got arrested for corruption.



"You own life! Yes! That's what the patent system was conceived for!""Congratulations," says the USPTO, having just given you a patent monopoly on something in nature -- something you did not even invent, let alone managed to discover. You own life! Yes! That's what the patent system was conceived for! Here in this week's news we have "Patent triumph for CRISPR inventors" and to quote: "The US Patent office has recently (May 28) issued a patent to the French biologist Emmanuelle Charpentier and US colleague Jennifer Doudna covering the methods of modulating DNA transcription with the much-vaunted but controversial CRISPR-Cas9 system. The patent (No. 10,301,651)..."

"It is definitely not "fake news" that patents are being granted on life itself."This isn't "those crazy Americans" who do this. It's happening right now in Europe as well. It has happened for quite some time and there were massive protests about it. It is definitely not "fake news" that patents are being granted on life itself. To quote this tweet from "No Patents on Seeds!": "RESEARCH REVEALS: PATENT ON SALMON AND TROUT IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE! Several similar patents, which claim food like milk and meat of animals fed with selected plants as "inventions", have already been submitted. PR https://bit.ly/2WAovoE Patent on salmon https://bit.ly/2IEzaty pic.twitter.com/D8RjnL9qhi"

It links to their article, "Patent applications covering ‘seeds to meat’and from ‘maize to milk’" (from a fortnight ago). To quote:

The patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) covering salmon and trout reared on specific plants (EP1965658) could now become a precedent for many other patent applications. Recent research shows several similar European patent applications are already pending, claiming food products, such as meat and milk, derived from animals fed with selected plants.

The patent on salmon and trout was granted in October 2018 and recently brought to public attention by “No Patents on Seeds!”. The patent monopoly covers the rearing and feeding of the fish, along with the fish itself. After learning of this case, No Patents on Seeds! researched similar patent applications. This research came to an alarming conclusion: there are several other European patent applications recently filed at the World Patent Institute (WIPO), all following a similar strategy. Starting with plants and feed, also the food products derived from farm animals are claimed as inventions.

[...]

No Patents on Seeds! is demanding a change in the rules for interpreting patent law in order to close these loopholes, it is also calling for the more effective implementation of current prohibitions. However, if a change in the interpretation of current law does not provide sufficient legal certainty and clarity, the European patent law itself needs to be changed accordingly. No Patents on Seeds! is warning that if patents on plants and animals used in food production are granted, this will allow big companies such as Bayer, DowDupont and Syngenta to increasingly take control of agriculture, breeding and food production.


These patent extremists who run the EPO are handing monopolies over to large corporations. Power or monopoly power over what exactly? Over life, animals, nature. Truly insane; most people would think it's "fake news", but it's not...

"Power or monopoly power over what exactly? Over life, animals, nature. Truly insane; most people would think it's "fake news", but it's not..."Here's another new tweet, this one in French: "BREVETS: @NoPatentsOnSeed s’inquiète de récentes tentatives pour breveter de la viande et du lait https://agenceurope.eu/fr/bulletin/article/12273/27 … PATENTS: No Patents on Seeds! is concerned about recent attempts to patent meat and milk https://agenceurope.eu/en/bulletin/article/12273/27 …"

Patenting milk! Not even joking! This past weekend we predicted patents on air would be next because there are already patents on (treated) water. Here's the cited page:

The patent granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) for salmon and trout raised on specific plants could set a precedent for many other patent applications, the association No Patents on Seeds! denounced in a statement published on Wednesday 12 June. However, according to this association, which fights against the patenting of living things, several patent applications claiming food products, such as meat and milk, derived from animals fed with selected...


This is Europe. Not joking. No "fake news" here...

"When she says "damage" she means refusal to grant patents on life and on nature."Over in the US things have been a little harder since 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 or Mayo. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is reluctant to go as far as the EPO does. Eileen McDermott et al have just staged a lobbying event of Watchtroll ('webinar') and she speaks of "USPTO Commissioner for Patents on Life" (seriously! The headline is "USPTO Commissioner for Patents on Life Five Years After Alice: We’ve Come a Long Way"). They're not even pretending not to grant patents on life itself. This isn't legal and even courts in the US point this out. From her summary: "Panelists in this past Thursday’s IPWatchdog webinar, “Dissecting Alice,” gave credit to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the steps it has taken to minimize the damage caused by the courts’ lack of action on patent eligibility, but expressed concern that it simply isn’t enough."

When she says "damage" she means refusal to grant patents on life and on nature. Damage to who exactly? These people are nuts. Are nuts patented yet?

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