Although this post won't be about the mobile electronic device market, it still concerns an area of patent law that interests me. Several years ago, I saw the documentary film Food, Inc. and found its claims to be very interesting, if not excessively paranoid.
Now, this issue has come up again with this recent supreme court case: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/business/supreme-court-to-hear-monsanto-seed-patent-case.html?_r=0
This brings to mind a controversial question that has concerned the patent community for quite some time: Can we patent GMOs? Currently, the answer is yes, as companies like Monsanto have already done so to great success. But with this recent case and films like Food, Inc. the complications associated with such actions are becoming more visible to the public. It will be interesting to follow this and see where it leads, and if it will trigger a major change to the most intrinsic question of patent law:
What is and what isn't patentable?
I feel that since GMOs require lots of R&D to be ready for market, then it does seem like you should be able to patent them. On the other hand, it's not really an invention, it's just a modification of an existing thing found in nature. Definitely a gray area...
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