A22 - WEDNESDAY, JUNE IS, 1980  
THE SUB JECTÛÓthe patentability of living things-ÛÓprobably merited the headlines that MondayÛªs Supreme Court decision received, but the decision itself did not. For the philosophical implications are enormousÛÓas, incidentally, are the amounts of money likely to be involved. But actually the Supreme Court's ruling turned on a narrow legal question and will change little.</br></br>The patent law, essentially unchanged since Thomas Jefferson drafted it to encourage invention and technological progress, states that ÛÏwhoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter... may obtain a patent therefor.Û Twice, in 1930 and again in 1970, Congress passed special laws granting patent protection for new types of plants. The narrow question the Supreme Court had to decide was whether the basic patent provision was intended to cover living things or whetherÛ÷CongressÛª later action on behalf of plants should be taken to mean that until Congress says otherwise, only plants among the living universe are patentable.</br></br>As the 54 vote implies, the decision could have gone either way. No grand principle was involvedÛÓ simply an interpretation or inference of congressional intent. The majority view held that the essential distinction in the plant laws and the patent law itself is ÛÏnot between living and inanimate things, but between products of nature, whether living or not, and human-made inventions.Û The genetically engineered oil-eating bacterium that was at issue in this case was clearly, the majority felt, ÛÏnot natureÛªs handiworkÛ but manÛªs, and therefore patentable.</br></br>Nor was this the first time that a patent had been granted to cover a bacterium or other living thing.</br></br>The answer is that this decision comes at the beginning of what is likely to beÛÓwithout exaggerationÛÓa new industrial revolution. Recent discoveries in molecular biology, especially the techniques of recombinant DNA, have opened up the possibility of producing substances of tremendous medical, industrial and human value in genetically engineered micro-organisms. The potential markets seem boundless, and Wall StreetÛªs enthusiasm for biotechnology is growing by leaps.