Henry "Pete" Linsert, Chairman and CEO of Martek Biosciences gave testimony
on behalf of the biotech industry before the subcommittee on courts and
intellectual property in March 29, 1995.  It's worth reading to get a
background on patents and the biotech industry.  But just thought this
portion of his statement was worth sharing.  Of course he wasn't talking
about his company because we all know (wink-wink) that his company doesn't
genetically engineer their microalgae, it's just products from the
"rainforest."  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC


http://www.house.gov/judiciary/457.htm

"Since genetic engineering is the only commercially feasible method for
manufacturing human proteins, a patent on the recombinant manufacturing
process can be tantamount to a product patent. But without process patents,
the biotechnology industry simply does not have the means whereby to prevent
piracy of U.S. inventions by foreign companies that want to sell to the
U.S.Under Durden, biotechnology companies cannot prevent importation of a
product made abroad which uses a material patented in the United States,
unless they have patent protection for the process. Although not unique, the
field of biotechnology is particularly susceptible to this problem. Take the
common example of an inventor who develops a "host cell" through genetic
engineering. Such a cell can be used in a biotechnological process to produce
a protein which may or may not be patentable. The inventor may obtain a
patent on the host cell. However, the steps of the biotechnology process may
be, and typically are, conventional apart from the use of that patentable
host cell and, under current law, may or may not be patentable.Under present
U.S. patent law, the holder of a patent to the host cell would be able to
preclude another from using that cell in the United States to make the
protein. However, without patent protection for the process, the inventor has
no effective remedy against someone who takes the patented host cell to
another country, uses it to produce the protein, and imports the protein back
into the United States. See, e.g., Amgen, Inc. v. United States International
Trade Commission, 902 F.2d 1532, 14 USPQ 1734 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Thus, our law
currently provides an unfair advantage to unauthorized users abroad of
technology patented in the United States."


             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html