Arlen Specter: “My question is whether the Senator from Kansas is aware of a release by the Patent Office on April 1, 1998, which reads…”

“My question is whether the Senator from Kansas is aware of a release by the Patent Office on April 1, 1998, which reads, in pertinent part: The Patent and Trademark Office is required by law to keep all patent applications in confidence until such time as a patent may be granted. However, the existence of a patent application directed to human/non-human chimera has recently been discussed in the news media. It is the position of the PTO that inventions directed to human/non-human chimera could, under certain circumstances, not be patentable because, among other things, they would fail to meet the public policy and morality aspects of the utility requirement. Now, this position by the Patent Office obviously, on its face, renders totally unnecessary the amendment that is being offered.”