§ Ms LynneTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has given to the establishment of limits to the patentability of life; what plans he has to exclude human, animal and plant tissue from patentability; and if he will make a statement. [621]
§ Mr. Ian TaylorPatents are granted only for inventions which meet the statutory requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability. A patent would not be granted for any invention, the publication or exploitation of which would generally be expected to encourage offensive, immoral or anti-social behaviour. Apart from the exclusion of plant and animal varieties from patentability, inventions involving human, animal or plant material have to satisfy the same criteria as other inventions. The Government agree with the view of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee in its recent report on human genetics that 21W there is a role for patenting in the application of the results of genetic research. We have no plans to change the law in this respect.