There is something ethically distasteful about anyone “owning” our DNA, yet that’s exactly what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does. It grants patents in genes (among other things). With the sanction of the U.S. Supreme Court, which recognized patents in lifeforms in 1981, one-fifth of the human genome is now privately owned.The implications of this trend, which has been accelerating for the past few decades, are sobering. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies can legally assert exclusive control over who may study, test or look at a gene, lest such activities interfere with the profit potential of their patent.Granting property rights in genes is supposed to be a necessary incentive to spur medical innovation and treat disease better. In practice, it is now clear that exclusive patents on genetic knowledge are an arcane form of monopoly. Not surprisingly, this means that patent holders have the ability to thwart competitive research, squelch innovative products and charge exorbitant prices. The end result, as some women are discovering, is dangerous to their health.