HUMAN-ANIMAL HYBRID REFUSED US PATENT

The Washington Post reports that the USPTO has turned down an application for a patent for a human-animal hybrid. The application is for a technique for combining human embryo cells with cells from the embryo of a monkey, ape or other animal to create a blend of the two. The invention, applied for by Stuart Newman of New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., is meant for medical research, but it has not yet been created. This decision was said by officials to be an easy one to make because the invention was much more human than animal but questions have been raised about where the line can be drawn between what is and is not to be considered human for these purposes. Newman in fact wished to fail in his application, since his aim was to establish the precedent that such living things cannot be patented.


The IPKat thinks he may have found the world’s first cat-human hybrid

The IPKat isn’t entirely sure that Newman has been successful in his objective. Now that it’s shown that such an invention isn’t patentable, it’s theoretically free for everyone to make.

More on human-animal hybrids here, here and here