What does it mean to invent nature

In recent years, there has been a proliferation in the number of superior court decisions concerned with patentable subject matter.Despite this, there is still a great deal of confusion about the types of things that are eligible for patent protection.Building on the idea that the subject-matter inquiry in patent law is effectively a taxonomic process of classification, this Article explores the different techniques that have been used to categorize patentable subject matter.Focusing on recent litigation in the United States and Australia involving Myriad Genetics' patents for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, this Article argues that while some of the uncertainty that accompanies the subject-matter inquiry is inevitable, many of the problems associated with subject matter eligibility arise because there is no real clarity about the criteria to be used when categorizing subject matter in patent law.Thus, it will be argued that patent law in the United States and Australia is ill equipped for the task of determining subject matter eligibility, at least in a way that does not seem to be arbitrary and capricious.