Thursday, March 20, 2014

Human Genes Should Not Be Patented

Myriad Genetics' argues that since it was the first to reach one of the many summits that exists within some Human Beings' mountain range of DNA, and because it spent a lot of money to reach that summit, that it has a right to plant the Myriad Genetic's flag thereon. Having planted its flag, it wants our government to back it up so that it can demand, at a price that it sets, a toll from anyone who wants to locate, reach and find beneficial uses of that same summit within the bodies of Human Beings.

Problem is they don't own nor have sovereignty over the DNA mountain ranges where those peaks are found. Individual human beings do.

Myriad Genetics needs to understand this, just because someone or some business spends a lot of money to achieve some noteworthy goal does not mean that they have a right to have a government enforced monopoly thereon to profit from their efforts. Some scientific peaks, some human endeavors, some calls to excellence and some actual peaks are scaled not for the purpose of conquest, profit or right to possess but for the mere achievement thereof and as a beacon for all to follow who can.

Just as Sir Edmund Hillary was not allowed to demand a tax of all who followed after him up the slopes of Mt. Everest but who certainly found ways to profit from his fame, the only property interest Myriad Genetics should be allowed to gain from its significant human achievement is to set up the most efficient business model possible in its use of this knowledge. That is what capitalism is about, competing. Therefore, given that Myriad Genetics has a head start and has the upper hand on the competition, it had better get on with it and just run on ahead of the competition and stop whining and insisting that we provide it with a government sanctioned crying room at the exclusion of everyone else.

Loren M. Lambert © April 15, 2013

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