The US Patent Office has opened a review of patents and patent applications concerning CRISPR technology . The legal process could result in rights being transferred between the two parties , the University of California ( UC ) , Berkeley and the Broad Institute of Cambridge , Massachusetts . The Patent Office previously ruled that the Broad Institute 's achievement of making CRISPR work inside human cells was a separate invention to that of UC Berkeley , which first achieved gene - expression in a test tube . The decision enabled Broad to retain its key patents . Now that it's clear that CRISPR in human cells is its own thing, a new challenge begins. However , it also led to additional challenges regarding other rights .
The US Patent Office has opened a review of patents and patent applications concerning CRISPR technology . The legal process could result in rights being transferred between the two parties , the University of California ( UC ) , Berkeley and the Broad Institute of Cambridge , Massachusetts . The Patent Office previously ruled that the Broad Institute 's achievement of making CRISPR work inside human cells was a separate invention to that of UC Berkeley , which first achieved gene - expression in a test tube . The decision enabled Broad to retain its key patents . However , it also led to additional challenges regarding other rights .