The story began in 1984, when the President and Fellows of
Harvard College applied for a US patent for the Oncomouse, also
known as the Harvard Mouse. At that time, it had already been
established in the US that a living organism could be patentable
and the Oncomouse was hailed by some as a breakthrough in cancer
research; but it outraged animal rights groups. They appealed
several times against the US patent, ultimately without
success.
In 1985, Harvard College applied for a European patent entitled
"Method for producing transgenic animals". It was initially
rejected, being deemed an "animal variety" and therefore excluded
from Europe's morality rules on patentability.
However, in May 1992, the EPO Appeal Board granted the patent in
respect of "non-human mammalian animals" for 11 member states of
the European Patent Organisation after balancing animal suffering
against the potential benefits to mankind.
Seventeen oppositions against the patent, filed in 1992 and 1993
by various animal rights groups, led to the decision in November
2001 to maintain the patent in respect of "transgenic rodents".
Several appeals against that decision lodged in March 2003 were
heard by the Technical Board of Appeal. This week, it decided to
restrict the patent further to "transgenic mice".
The full reasons for the appeal decisions have still to be
published.
