Chakrabarty applied for a patent for a human-engineered
bacterium to eat oil. There were three parts to the patent:
Method for producing the bacteria
Composition of a slurry of bacteria and carrier liquids
The bacteria themselves.
The patent examiner allowed the first two claims, but
denied the third.
The patent examiner knew that living things are not
patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101.
The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals reversed and
awarded the patent.
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision.
35 U.S.C. §101 allows for patents for things that
are 'manufactured' or a 'composition of matter'.
The US Supreme Court felt that genetically-engineered
organisms fall within the definition of 'manufactured.'
Chakrabarty's claim is not to a hitherto unknown natural
phenomenon, but to a nonnaturally occurring manufacture or composition
of matter…His discovery is not nature's handiwork, but his own,
accordingly patentable under 35 U.S.C. §101.
