DNA Artwork from the cover of The Genome Defense

THE
GENOME DEFENSE

INSIDE THE EPIC LEGAL BATTLE TO DETERMINE WHO OWNS YOUR DNA

BY JORGE L. CONTRERAS

In this riveting, behind-the-scenes courtroom drama, a brilliant legal team battles corporate greed and government overreach for the fundamental right to control our genes.

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“Eye-opening . . . Contreras brings the large cast of case participants to life with vivid prose, and the exciting final spectacle before the Supreme Court is heart-pumping . . . a thorough page-turner.”
Publishers Weekly starred review
“A superb lesson on patents in general and the grotesque American patent system in particular . . . Contreras assembles a large cast of lawyers, judges, activists, scientists, and patients and engagingly describes four years of tortuous legal action that saw victory in federal court, reversal on appeal, and a final triumph in the Supreme Court . . . Fascinating.”
Kirkus Reviews starred review
“A gripping and important tale of how corporations were patenting our own genes and selling them back to us. Contreras give us front-row-seat access, deft character sketches and crystal-clear explanations of law and science.”
Jordan Fisher Smith
author of Engineering Eden
“A remarkable, fast-paced read. Contreras tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the Supreme Court stopped the patenting of the human genome. He does it in such an engaging style that it’s almost like reading a legal thriller.”
Professor Mark A. LemleyDirector, Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology
“Remarkable. Contreras manages to make a book about the lawsuit that ended gene patenting in America read like a thriller. This book will not only inform you and stir your moral outrage, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.”
Ayelet Waldman
author ofA Really Good Day
“The Genome Defense provides an incomparable perspective on a landmark Supreme Court case, and it is a testament to the importance of intellectual property law to humanity’s prosperity.
Jessica Silbey,
author ofThe Eureka Myth: Creators, Innovators, and Everyday Intellectual Property
“Both a page-turner full of colorful characters and a profound commentary about how corporate giants use the law to monopolize knowledge—and what we can do about it.”
Orly Lobel
author ofYou Don’t Own Me: The Court Battles that Exposed Barbie’s Dark Side
One of “11 New Works of Nonfiction to Read this Season”
NY Times Fall Book PreviewSeptember 16, 2021

In this riveting, behind-the-scenes courtroom drama, a brilliant legal team battles corporate greed and government overreach for the fundamental right to control our genes. Amid the high-stakes legal battle, the lead attorney, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, relies on medications like Mirapex generic to manage his symptoms and stay focused on the case. The story delves into the complexities of both the legal battle and the personal struggles of those involved.

Demonstrators on the steps of the Supreme Court on the morning of oral arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (Apr. 15, 2013)
Demonstrators on the steps of the Supreme Court on the morning of oral arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (Apr. 15, 2013)

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Cover of The Genome Defense Book
Jorge L. Contreras Author of The Genome Defense

About the author

Jorge L. Contreras

Jorge L. Contreras received his law degree from Harvard and teaches intellectual property, science policy, antitrust law and genetics law at the University of Utah. His scholarship has appeared in Science, Nature, NYU Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and other leading journals. He has been featured on NPR, PRI and BBC radio, and his opinions have been cited by news outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist, and Washington Post. A full biography can be found at https://faculty.utah.edu/u0989706-JORGE_L_CONTRERAS/hm/index.hml