Diamond v. Chakrabarty

447 U.S. 303 (1980)US Supreme Court1980Intellectual Property Law

Rule established

Man-made living micro-organisms are patentable subject matter; anything under the sun made by man qualifies

Facts

Ananda Chakrabarty (microbiologist at General Electric) developed a bacterium capable of degrading multiple components of crude oil
The bacterium was created by introducing plasmids from different bacterial strains into a single Pseudomonas bacterium
No naturally occurring bacterium could degrade more than one crude oil component
USPTO Patent Examiner rejected: living things not patentable. Board of Appeals affirmed.

Issue

Whether a genetically engineered living micro-organism is patentable subject matter under US patent law (35 USC S.101).

Held

Yes. Patentable subject matter includes "anything under the sun that is made by man." The relevant distinction is not between living and inanimate things, but between products of nature and human-made inventions. Chakrabarty's bacterium was not a product of nature; it was a product of human ingenuity and intervention having a distinctive character and utility not found in nature.

Ratio Decidendi

The distinction for patentability is between products of nature (not patentable) and products of human ingenuity (patentable). Living organisms are not per se excluded from patent protection; the test is whether human intervention has produced something with markedly different characteristics from any found in nature.

How to use it in an exam

State the Diamond v. Chakrabarty principle
Key line: "The relevant distinction is not between living and inanimate things, but between products of nature and human-made inventions."
Comparative note for Indian law: India expressly excludes plants and animals (S.3(j)) but permits micro-organisms and microbiological processes. Chakrabarty influenced TRIPS Art. 27.3(b) which requires patentability of micro-organisms.

Source

Source: US Supreme Court Reports

This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.

Cited in study notes

Intellectual Property LawNew Forms of Intellectual PropertyDefines the frontier of biotech patentability; Indian S.3(j) compared