In re Chakrabarty

I do not agree that appellant’s claimed microorganisms are within the scope of 35 U.S.C. § 101, and I join in the statement of the board—

We do not believe that Congress intended 35 U.S.C. 101 to encompass living organisms whether they be plants, modified microorganisms (such as bacteria), or modified multicellular organisms (such as mammals).

In In re LeGrice, 49 C.C.P.A. 1124, 1139, 301 F.2d 929, 939, 133 USPQ 365, 374 (1962), this court recognized that, under the Act of May 23, 1930, Pub.L. No. 245, 46 Stat. 376—

The patent law, as shown by the Committee Reports, was extended to plant patents…