My understanding of the patent process (in the U.S.) is that it gives 
the discoverer/possesor/seller of a unique concept/procedure/product a 
marketing advantage to be the unique distributor and block others from 
getting the advantage.  The approval of a patent simply has to convince 
the patent officer that the applicant has a unique patentable and 
enforceable process or product.  From what I understand, the applicant 
does not have to prove that it works, just convince the reviewer that 
it could work.  A lot of clearly identified genes have received patents 
(mostly in plants, but some in animals), whether naturally or 
artificially created.  Some have been marketed, others not.  We were 
told in the 2000s by patent specialists that any product of selection 
in breeding of honey bees could not be patented unless clearly 
identified as unique and due to the process of selection.  So for 
example, even though VSH had been identified as a clearly genetically 
based and heritable trait, it could not be patented because no one had 
identified a gene, DNA sequence, or other entity that correlated with 
the behavior and could be marketed and enforced if someone else decided 
to sell it.

 

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