Patenting Based on Human Genes Re-examining Imam Khomeini's Viewpoints in the field of Invention

The patenting of human genes is a patent based on human genes. Genes that are removed from human organs or specific tissues of the body and are purified and manipulated in a laboratory. In foreign laws (U.S. and EU), the patent is granted in this field under certain conditions. In the domestic civil law system, the legislator has the knowledge of patenting based on human gene , but has not yet explicitly incorporated it into the legal system. The present article seeks to justify the legal basis of a patent on the basis of human gene in the domestic law system and seeks to justify the patent in this field along with the influential countries in this field. Attempts have been made in this article to introduce human gene-based patenting to the Iranian patent system with legal arguments and to prove that the Patent Office does not face any barriers to patenting based on human genes. Imam Khomeini's viewpoints about the invention has been re-examined and, contrary to what others authors have understood of the Imam's fatwa to deny the patent, the findings of this article based on an analysis of his fatwa, in particular the primary and secondary verdicts, show that Imam Khomeini acknowledges patenting.