# Source: Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics

**Type:** source
**Status:** Useful
**Confidence:** High
**Source Type:** Supreme Court Opinion
**URL:** https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/569/576/
**Publisher:** Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
**Accessed:** 2026-06-18
**Updated:** 2026-06-18

## Summary

The Supreme Court's 2013 *Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics* opinion is the primary legal source for the ruling that naturally occurring DNA segments are not patent eligible merely because they have been isolated, while cDNA can be patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring.

## Useful Claims

- The case was decided on June 13, 2013.
- The opinion says Myriad discovered the location and sequence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and obtained patents based on that discovery.
- The Court held that naturally occurring DNA is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated.
- The Court held that cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally occurring.
- The opinion clarifies that the case did not involve method claims, new applications of knowledge about BRCA1 and BRCA2, or altered DNA sequences.

## Reliability Notes

This is a high-quality legal source for the patent holding and the Court's framing of Myriad's contribution. The URL is a reliable public copy rather than the Supreme Court's PDF itself; a future source record could add the official supremecourt.gov slip opinion if the wiki wants strictly official legal URLs.

## Related Pages

- [Myriad Genetics BRCA Sequencing and Testing](myriad-genetics-brca.md)
- [Utah Population Database](utah-population-database.md)