'German Reasoning Won Out' in Stem Cell Ruling

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:



The European Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that research using embryonic stem cells, in which the embryos are destroyed, cannot be patented. In Germany, where the research that prompted the original lawsuit was based, editorialists are mixed in their views of the ruling.

On Tuesday, the European Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling denying patent rights for stem cell research from embryos if they are destroyed in the process.

The case involved a method devised by Oliver Brüstle of Germany's University of Bonn for turning human embryonic stem cells into nerve cells. Brüstle filed a patent for the technique in 1997, which was then challenged by Greenpeace.

In its ruling, the European Court of Justice allowed for patents on the use of human embryos for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes applied to the embryos themselves, but not on their use for scientific research. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,792721,00.html