Genetic Scientists and Executives: "US Patent Office Needs 

Money, Not Laws 

For Gene Patents" 

Dawn Kopecki / Dow Jones Newswires 14jul00

WASHINGTON -- Genetic scientists and executives Thursday urged House lawmakers not to change U.S. patent laws and to restore funding to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"We do not see and would not support, legislative action to alter the standards of eligibility, enablement, written description or otherwise in the name of genome research," said Dennis Henner, the senior vice president of research for San Francisco biotech firm Genentech Inc. (DNA) at a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently laid out new guidelines to help simplify the complicated process in patenting genes.

"The complexity of some of these applications is almost unimaginable," said Q. Todd Dickinson, director of the U.S. PTO. "For example, we received a DNA sequence listing as part of a patent that, had it been submitted on paper, would have totaled more than 400,000 pages."

The recent mapping of the human genome and aggressive research into gene therapies has heightened awareness in Washington that biotechnology may be outpacing government oversight. This comes at a time when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office faces a potential 25% funding cut for fiscal year 2001, which begins Oct. 1.

About 10% of the PTO's $1 billion budget is diverted every year to other government programs. In addition, the House voted last month to siphon even more away - a total of $244 million in revenue generated from patent application fees.

"The diversion of fees is unfortunate to say the least and will result in a negative affect for the biotechnology industry due to increased patent application pendency, lessened overall patent quality and the deprivation of resources," said subcommittee Chairman Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to review a companion bill next week. It is unclear whether the Senate bill will also include the budget cut.

The patent office "will not be able to hire the adequate staff, purchase the necessary computers or dedicate the necessary resources to process genetic patents in a timely manner," one subcommittee aide said.

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