Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-1795-7143
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Keywords
Genetic data, Ownership, Property, BRCA gene, Gene patents
Abstract
Among the many themes that illuminate Jorge Contreras’s The Genome Defense, this Essay focuses on property. It considers the rhetorical role played by property in convincing both courts and the public that patenting genetic data was legally and ethically objectionable. This Essay begins by locating property—and public property—as a major theme in the dialogue surrounding the Myriad litigation. It then situates this rhetorical move in the context of property-talk generally, highlighting the distinctiveness of leveraging public rather than private ownership as a means of accessing moral intuitions. Finally, this Essay reflects on what the use of public property rhetoric in Myriad can tell us about how we talk and think about ownership, both public and private, and how that rhetoric can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the institution of property.
First Page
1
Publication Title
Texas A&M Journal of Property Law
Recommended Citation
Dave Fagundes, Genetic Property Rhetoric and the Public Domain, 11 Tex. A&M J. Prop. L. 1 (2025).
Included in
Medical Jurisprudence Commons, Other Genetics and Genomics Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons, Public Interest Commons
Comments
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