THE PATENTABILITY OF BIOTECHNOLOGICAL INVENTIONS IN THE EU: AN IMPACT ON THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE

Abstract

The aim: To identify the spheres in which it is forbidden to patent the results of medical researches and as a consequence there is no legal protection of biotechnological inventions. Materials and methods: The research material is a modern European regulatory framework that establishes the basic principles for patentability of biotechnological inventions. The methods of information retrieval, analysis, systematization, and generalization were used in this article. Conclusions: The Court of Justice has categorically stated that inventions that use human embryonic cells cannot be used for industrial or commercial purposes and therefore cannot be patented. In connection with this prohibition, the Court of Justice provided a unified definition of “embryo” and determined that it could be considered a dividing human egg, but only if it had a real ability to develop into a human. That is, the determining factor is not the beginning of the process of cell proliferation, but their real ability to become human. These decisions have become crucial for the development of research and the use of their results in therapeutic activities in the EU.