I don't think it's possible to know what's really going on at the present time, and here is why:
Until a patent is actually awarded, the patent application itself is confidential, so only Celera, its lawyers, and the patent office know what's actually going on. The patent office by law can't even confirm that an application has been filed until it is awarded.
I can tell you that something which occurs in nature can't be patented, so I don't think Celera can patent a naturally occuring gene.
As for "giving" the information to researchers, what I've read is $20,000 a year for a university researcher to use it, which doesn't sound like a lot of money, I guess, but it's not what I call free. Celera wants to license the technology, e.g., software, that makes the information accessible. Fine and good. But if they are incorporating data which was developed using public funds, e.g., by NIH, they may have a problem. And if they "give" it away, how do they make money? |
