CONSEQUENCES OF THE EU COURT JUDGMENT IN THE «OLIVER BRÜSTLE V GREENPEACE EV» CASE FOR GENOMIC RESEARCHES WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The Federal Supreme court of Germany appealed to the European Court of Justice for the interpretation of the term «human embryo». Before the European Court of Justice for the first time there was a need to consider the concept of «uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes», determine their patentability. The solution adopted will determine the answers to the different questions asked, in particular the question whether pluripotent stem cells must themselves be categorised as «embryos». This article aim to analyze the EU Court position in the «Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace eV» case. The article discusses a factual backgraund of the case and the regulatory basis used by the EU Court. This article covers consiquences of the case as a legal precedent, including its meaning for research in the human genome research field.