This basically grants them a patent on every single cannabis plant which has >3% THC and CBD, and which Myrcene is not the dominant terpine. Can anyone who knows their bud say which strains this could be applied to?
Also, the specification on this is HUGE. This represents a large investment; they're going to filing continuations on this until the cows come home.
Cannabis has been cultivated and sold illegally in the US for almost a century. It seems unlikely that the USPTO would be able to enforce compliance when law enforcement has not.
Ah, capitalism. Who wants the free association of individual producers as labourers when you can have wage labour and the cycle of capital crisis in a commodity economy backed up by the State acting on behalf of the property owners for the benefit of the rich to the detriment of the poor as Adam Smith noted even in the 18th century?
The free market was so called because it is free from control of its participants :)
Edit: To be clear, I'm arguing against capitalism as a manifestation of freedom, I'm sure we both agree that patents and copyrights should not exist in a free society, though.
Article states that more than half of the 600 patents related to cannabis are held in China. Unclear if they relate to industrial hemp or medicinal uses.
The race to get coveted FDA approval is even more heated. If GW Pharmaceuticals' stock price is any indication, it may be first out the gate with its CBD-based epilepsy treatment, Epidiolex.
A powerful drug derived from marijuana is on the cusp of federal approval
Its amazing that we at all allow the possibility of a field brimming with promise, that resulted in so much oppression to poor minorites, to be suddenly, just as the moment turned towards freedom, captured and terms dictated by a small group of rich people when others have bled, been deprived of their freedom, and were there first.
This is absurd. If these patents are ever enforced, I hope the cannabis industry doesn't stop until they've destroyed this company, the people who run it, and anyone who associates with them. In a court of law or otherwise.
I once had an economics professor who insisted the bigger hurdle to marijuana legalization was monetizing it. It's a quite unique cash crop in that it only takes a small area and small amout of labor to produce large supply. His words, paraphrased: "You can grow enough marijuana in your basement to meet the demands of your whole neighborhood! And it's a difficult thing to patent to use IP ownership as a revenue model..."
Looks like BioTech Institute LLC (and I'm sure lots of others) are trying to address the second point.
It's also extremely simple to produce enough alcohol for your entire neighborhood in your basement with a home-made still.
That has not stopped the monetization of alcohol...
People who want to make billions from this will simply lobby until there are extremely strict laws in place to protect their profits, and then also lobby to make sure there are wars and extremely strict punishments for violators of those laws.
What is the current state of Case Law with regard to DNA in the US? And how, if at all, would this carry over to the genetics of plants?
How much of a natural product is it safe to say is patentable? And how much of the patent has to depend on things like "processes of manufacturing", etc?
The sad thing about growing up is that most of the magic unicorns die. Yes, it is a nice story, but if it is not the 1 in a million exceptional story it's probably one of the five big players behind this company. And if they really are close to getting a legal lock on the market the other big players are either making deals with them already behind closed doors or they are partnering up and we'll soon see legal battles about these patents.
For the end result it also doesn't really matter how the fight will go. Either 1, 2 or 3 of them will find a balance that all of them can live with and the rest of the market will just die, starting from the smaller participants, either by going bankrupt or by merging with bigger players. Soon everything will become legal and you can buy standardized packages in the super market with a few illegal players continuing to gamble against the law but never really making big bucks out of it.
DoctorNick|8 years ago
https://www.google.com/patents/US9370164
This basically grants them a patent on every single cannabis plant which has >3% THC and CBD, and which Myrcene is not the dominant terpine. Can anyone who knows their bud say which strains this could be applied to?
Also, the specification on this is HUGE. This represents a large investment; they're going to filing continuations on this until the cows come home.
EDIT: I found this website: http://analytical360.com/
This lists a number of strains that could potentially read on this, such as Gorilla Glue: http://analytical360.com/m/archived/261533
jasonlaramburu|8 years ago
Cannabis has been cultivated and sold illegally in the US for almost a century. It seems unlikely that the USPTO would be able to enforce compliance when law enforcement has not.
incompatible|8 years ago
etplayer|8 years ago
The free market was so called because it is free from control of its participants :)
Edit: To be clear, I'm arguing against capitalism as a manifestation of freedom, I'm sure we both agree that patents and copyrights should not exist in a free society, though.
indescions_2017|8 years ago
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2108347/green...
Article states that more than half of the 600 patents related to cannabis are held in China. Unclear if they relate to industrial hemp or medicinal uses.
The race to get coveted FDA approval is even more heated. If GW Pharmaceuticals' stock price is any indication, it may be first out the gate with its CBD-based epilepsy treatment, Epidiolex.
A powerful drug derived from marijuana is on the cusp of federal approval
http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-epilepsy-drug-2017-...
igichdyfhc|8 years ago
mnm1|8 years ago
gcb0|8 years ago
drewmol|8 years ago
Looks like BioTech Institute LLC (and I'm sure lots of others) are trying to address the second point.
grecy|8 years ago
That has not stopped the monetization of alcohol...
People who want to make billions from this will simply lobby until there are extremely strict laws in place to protect their profits, and then also lobby to make sure there are wars and extremely strict punishments for violators of those laws.
toufka|8 years ago
perpetualcrayon|8 years ago
How much of a natural product is it safe to say is patentable? And how much of the patent has to depend on things like "processes of manufacturing", etc?
arca_vorago|8 years ago
The right to grow needs yo be solidified.
rando444|8 years ago
erikb|8 years ago
For the end result it also doesn't really matter how the fight will go. Either 1, 2 or 3 of them will find a balance that all of them can live with and the rest of the market will just die, starting from the smaller participants, either by going bankrupt or by merging with bigger players. Soon everything will become legal and you can buy standardized packages in the super market with a few illegal players continuing to gamble against the law but never really making big bucks out of it.
rando444|8 years ago
I love good journalism like this. Well written, informative, and interesting.
Thanks for sharing!
josefdlange|8 years ago
Animats|8 years ago
unknown|8 years ago
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millzlane|8 years ago
stephengillie|8 years ago
rdiddly|8 years ago