Welcome to our whimsical roundup of the top 10 living organisms that have landed in the patent office – a truly bizarre intersection of biology and bureaucracy. In this guide we’ll explore how scientists, corporations, and even governments have tried to claim ownership over everything from cancer‑prone mice to glowing fish.
Why the Top 10 Living Creatures Matter
10. OncoMouse
The OncoMouse earned the dubious honor of being the very first animal to receive a patent. Harvard researchers engineered this mouse to carry the mouse mammary tumor virus, essentially giving it a built‑in predisposition to develop breast‑cancer‑like tumors, making it a valuable model for cancer research.
In April 1988 the university secured a patent classifying the creature as a “Transgenic Non‑Human Mammal.” The rights were later handed off to DuPont, a chemical giant that had helped bring the mouse to market.
The patent sparked a firestorm among animal‑rights activists who balked at the idea of owning a living being, while many researchers feared that a private monopoly would drive up prices and force scientists to share any commercial gains derived from the mouse.
The European Patent Office ultimately granted the patent, arguing that the scientific benefits outweighed any animal suffering. Canada, however, refused to issue a patent on the grounds that a living creature could not be owned, though it did allow Harvard to patent the method used to create the mouse.
9. A New Species Of Pseudomonas Bacteria
A breakthrough oil‑spill‑eating Pseudomonas bacterium became the first genetically modified organism to be granted a patent. Scientists fused DNA from four different oil‑eating Pseudomonas strains into a single super‑bacterium that could devour oil without the competitive interference that plagued earlier attempts.
Before this hybrid, each species tackled only a slice of the oil, and their competition left the spill only partially cleaned. By merging the useful genes, Chakrabarty and his team created a single, efficient clean‑up crew.
The patent application ignited a legal battle that climbed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The core issue wasn’t just the bacteria itself but whether any living creature could be patented, setting a precedent for future genetically engineered life forms.
Chakrabarty’s victory in 1981 paved the way for later patents, including the famed OncoMouse, by arguing that the Constitution permits patents on any original process, even those involving living matter.
8. MERS Virus
The status of viruses as living or non‑living has long puzzled scientists, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus sits squarely in the middle of that debate. Outside a host, it behaves like a chemical particle; inside, it hijacks cellular machinery like a living organism.
First identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, MERS caused severe pneumonia. Saudi researchers aimed to study the virus, only to discover that Erasmus University in the Netherlands had filed a patent covering the virus itself, as well as detection and prevention methods.
Under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the virus should belong to Saudi Arabia, but an Egyptian doctor had sent a sample to the Netherlands without Saudi permission, sparking an international dispute.
Erasmus had previously tried to patent the SARS virus, later withdrawing after WHO intervention, yet it still holds a patent on human metapneumovirus and even attempted to create its own patented virus.
7. Rabbits
Biochemical and Pharmacological Laboratories, Inc. secured a patent on a very ordinary rabbit that had its eyes deliberately damaged with a sugary or salty solution, leaving the corneas permanently open.
This injury mimics “dry eye” syndrome in humans, a condition that reduces tear production and can lead to corneal damage. The altered rabbits serve as models for testing treatments aimed at alleviating the human disease.
The patent’s reach extends beyond rabbits to other lab animals, such as chickens, that might undergo the same ocular‑damage technique for research purposes.
6. Triploid Oysters
Following the Supreme Court’s green light for the Pseudomonas patent, scientists turned their attention to the sea, creating triploid oysters that carry three sets of chromosomes instead of the usual two.
These extra chromosomes make the oysters larger and fatter while rendering them sterile, meaning they never spawn. As a result, growers can harvest them year‑round, sidestepping the summer scarcity that occurs when wild oysters breed.
Standish Allen, a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, first attempted a patent in the 1980s, but it was rejected because he had already published the method while at the University of Maine.
Undeterred, Allen and colleague Ximing Guo refined the process in 1989, generating tetraploid oysters and crossing them with normal diploids to produce the sterile triploids. Rutgers University secured the patent in 1998, covering not only oysters but also related shellfish such as scallops, clams, and mussels, as well as the production method.
5. Dolly The Sheep
Dolly made headlines as the world’s first cloned mammal, created in 1996 by transferring a cell nucleus from an adult sheep into an enucleated egg. The resulting clone shared identical DNA with the donor, proving that adult cells could be re‑programmed.After Dolly’s birth, the Roslin Institute sought patents on the animal herself, her offspring, and the cloning technique. A decade‑long legal saga unfolded, culminating in 2014 with a ruling that the cloned sheep could not be patented because its genetic material was not a novel invention.
However, the institute was granted a patent on the cloning process itself, allowing the methodology to be protected even though the animal could not.
4. Beagles
In the United States, about 75,000 dogs are used for laboratory experiments each year, with beagles topping the list thanks to their manageable size and docile nature. Their popularity even led to thefts, as criminals would snatch beagles to sell them to research facilities.
At the turn of the millennium, the University of Texas devised a method to induce a lethal lung infection in beagles, filing a patent that covered any animal subjected to the technique.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially granted the patent, but after challenges from the American Anti‑Vivisection Society and the Center for Technology Assessment, the office withdrew the claim for review in 2004. The university eventually abandoned the patent before a final decision was reached.
3. Pigs
In 2005 Monsanto sparked controversy by attempting to patent a heftier pig, claiming ownership over the animal, its progeny, and the breeding methods used to produce it.
In reality, Monsanto didn’t genetically alter any pig. Instead, it created a diagnostic kit that identified a gene associated with increased meatiness. Farmers could then pair pigs carrying the gene to breed larger offspring.
The move was seen as a form of natural selection packaged as a patent. Monsanto sold the kit to Newsham Choice Genetics in 2007, which sought a European patent. German farmers and the agriculture minister protested, fearing royalty payments. The European Patent Office denied a patent on the pig itself but approved the kit’s patent.
2. GloFish
GloFish holds the title of the first genetically modified pet, a zebra fish that glows under ultraviolet light thanks to inserted coral fluorescence genes.
Originally designed as a bio‑indicator for water pollution by Singaporean scientists, the luminous fish soon entered the aquarium trade, becoming a popular novelty.
While many GM fish are rendered sterile to prevent accidental breeding, Yorktown Technologies asserts that GloFish remain fertile but would be unable to survive in the colder U.S. waters should they escape.
1. AquAdvantage Salmon
The AquAdvantage Salmon is the first genetically modified salmon to receive FDA approval for commercial production and human consumption. Developed by AquaBounty Technologies, it carries genes from the Pacific Chinook salmon and the ocean pout, enabling continuous growth throughout the year.
These modifications make the salmon grow twice as fast as conventional Atlantic salmon, ensuring a year‑round supply and larger harvests.
Critics worry about the ecological impact should these GM salmon escape into the wild, potentially “contaminating” natural stocks. The FDA counters that the fish are raised in land‑based, closed‑containment tanks and are sterile females, eliminating reproductive risk.
Another point of contention is labeling: because the AquAdvantage Salmon shows no discernible biological differences from non‑GM salmon, the FDA does not require it to be marked as genetically modified, leaving consumers in the dark.
Oliver Taylor is a freelance writer and bathroom musician. You can reach him at [email protected].