The 1998 Directive is based explicitly on respect for the fundamental principles safeguarding the dignity and integrity of the person and asserts the principle that neither the human body, at any stage in its formation and development, including germ cells, nor the simple discovery of one of its elements or one of its products, including the sequence or partial sequence of a human gene, can be patented. The Directive in question excludes
from patentability human reproductive cloning and the commercial exploitation of embryos or elements of the human body. As regards animals, it even prohibits any patent being granted for genetic modifica
...[+++]tion likely to cause suffering for no substantial benefit.