A judge ruled today that Myriad could not patent the “breast cancer genes” (BRCA1 and BRCA2). I heard a proponent on the radio say how without patents, the technological advancements of the past century would not have occurred. Of course, there is nothing to back this claim up — and nothing was offered. Prodded along by Stephan Kinsella’s scholarship in the area, I finally became convinced of the unlibertarian nature of IP when I learned more about the history of patents in the biotech industry. Patenting genes? Really?!? At this point, it has become all about tweaking the IP laws so that it all seems fair — there is no attempt to examine it from a property rights perspective in the biotech world.

The Best of Kathryn Muratore