i'll cover the highlights:

Quote :

" The ACLU, joined by Yeshiva University's law school, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in southern New York against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Utah-based Myriad Genetics and the University of Utah Research Foundation. Myriad and the research foundation hold patents on the pair of genes -- known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 -- that are responsible for many cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. The ACLU contends that patenting the genes limits research and the free flow of information, and as a result violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit also challenges genetic patenting in general, noting that about 20 percent of all human genes are patented -- including genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, muscular dystrophy and asthma. Myriad's patents give it exclusive right to perform diagnostic tests on the genes -- forcing other researchers to request permission from the company before they can take a look at BRCA1 and BRCA2, the ACLU said. The patents also give the company the rights to future mutations on the BRCA2 gene and the power to exclude others from providing genetic testing. The company also charged $3,000 a test, possibly keeping some women from seeking preventive genetic testing, the ACLU says. "It is absolutely our intent that upon victory this will rend invalid patents on many other genes," said Dan Ravisher, executive director of the Public Patent Foundation and a patent law professor at Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. "We just had to pick one case as our case.""

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/12/us.genes.lawsuit/index.html

i'm not sure how anyone ever thought this was a good idea...

5/12/2009 11:34:56 PM

One flew over the ACLU's nest.

5/12/2009 11:35:46 PM

Holy shit ^THAT is full of win. So full of win, you will be given your choice of two of Michael Phelps' Gold Medals from '04.

5/12/2009 11:37:41 PM

_{said phrase has zero hits on Google}

5/12/2009 11:40:56 PM

The ACLU is among the best organizations to ever exist.
I sincerely hope they win this case.

^
^^
^^^
Even if you replace ACLU with something that is actually cuckoo like PETA, said phrase is stupid and not even remotely funny...

5/12/2009 11:54:38 PM

Not that I mean it. I just hate everything.

5/12/2009 11:56:43 PM

We're all really concerned about Willy Nilly's silly opinion

5/12/2009 11:58:07 PM

While I'm all for Stallman-esque freedom of information, where would the incentives come from to produce results?

5/12/2009 11:58:32 PM

V The book ain't bad, the monkey boy is nuts

[Edited on May 13, 2009 at 12:12 AM. Reason : .]

5/12/2009 11:58:48 PM

I am totally purchasing this book.

5/13/2009 12:06:21 AM

I am totally [verb] this audiobook.

5/13/2009 12:07:35 AM

Quote :

"While I'm all for Stallman-esque freedom of information, where would the incentives come from to produce results?"

BECAUSE OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL ARE THE ONLY INCENTIVES TO PRODUCTIVITY ***cough cough linux cough***

5/13/2009 7:58:58 AM

He has mixed feelings when it comes to capitalism.

5/13/2009 8:00:13 AM

^^ or Firefox for that matter.

5/13/2009 8:03:17 AM

I read next a couple weeks ago when I was at the beach. It definitely brings to light some of the absurdities of the path we are going down in regard to patenting and the genetic system.

5/13/2009 8:07:38 AM

^
Patents have gotten way out of control, and nearly everyone sees the folly in copyrights.
I sometimes wonder if america will even survive when the intellectual property bubble pops.

Quote :

"He has mixed feelings when it comes to capitalism."

Were you talking to me?
If so: I most certainly do not have mixed feelings when it comes to capitalism. No part of my political and economic philosophy is at odds with any other part. Why did you think that must be so? Do you assume that all capitalists are hyper-capitalists? (A hyper-capitalist is douchebag that puts human liberty, profits and ownership above all else, believe that corporations can and should be as large as possible, and want nearly everything to be viewed as property.)

[Edited on May 13, 2009 at 8:26 AM. Reason : ]

5/13/2009 8:23:38 AM

Quote :

"Myriad and the research foundation hold patents on the pair of genes -- known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 -- that are responsible for many cases of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers"

Cancer victims should start suing them for an unsafe product.

5/13/2009 9:06:24 AM

i'm glad i wasn't the only one who immediately thought of Next

5/13/2009 9:08:56 AM