Patzke+Abstract+1

The Implications of Property and Information Discourse in the Myriad Genetics Case

The Myriad Genetics case (American Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office) has gained widespread attention, largely due to the widely criticized business practices of the biotech company’s gene testing for breast and ovarian cancer. Within legal scholarship, the case is often reviewed as apotheosis of the current tensions within the patent system, revealing inadequate review processes and contested subject matter. However, an evaluation of the judicial rulings, as well as established research on the development of genetics as a discipline, reveals that the language of genetics relies on conflicting metaphors of chemical processes and “de-coding” techniques.

This essay evaluates how the interpretation of these patents is confounded by these irreconcilable metaphors of the practice of DNA sequencing. Furthermore, I argue that the Federal Court’s reliance on expert testimony, as well as the inclusion of specific genetic disciplinary practices in the judiciary rulings, detracts from the larger question concerning the judiciary’s role in ‘ordering’ the sciences to confirm to established societal norms. This tension, between maintaining the status quo and directing innovation beyond patentability, is revealed in the courts inability to reconcile the conflicting metaphors of genetics.

__Intellectual Merit__ This research and analysis will contribute to the existing legal and STS scholarship on scientific and legal co-production of knowledge. This discourse analysis will focus on how negotiations, collaborations and compromises are created in the adjudication process. The study will create new ways of understanding the role of stakeholders, via //amicus curiae// briefs, in and out of the judicial system. At a very general level, this research will present a ‘map’ outlining how precedent is established, maintained, and disrupted in the legal system and how actors, both legal and lay persons, can influence that process.

__Broader Impacts__ This research will result in journal articles, a dissertation chapter, and presentations at interdisciplinary conferences such as ___ and ___. Furthermore, this work will be presented to public advocacy groups to help participants understand their effective roles in adjudication beyond litigation.