A Mouse in Sheep's Clothing: The challenge to the patent morality criteria posed by 'Dolly'

With the debate on cloning still ringing in one's ears, it was not entirely unexpected that PPL Therapeutics and the Roslin Institute have announced that Dolly, the cloned sheep, is the basis of a patent application. The recent public debate has indicated the repugnance with which some view cloning per se, the cloning of humans and/or animals, and the patenting of biotechnology generally. The Rural Advancement Foundation International is already taking steps to ensure that the "cloning patent" will be rejected by the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"),1 making it set to be as hotly contested as the Oncomouse patent remains.

This article addresses the problems of applying a morality criterion through the patent system and looks to both the Oncomouse ² case and the impending patent application on cloning in order to consider whether the morality of patenting is being addressed on a realistic basis.