Freedom for fluorescent fish

Sad to see this story about genetically modified fish becoming established in wild populations - it did however prompt me to take a look at the various patents covering the GloFish®, and there are some interesting patent claims there. 

As well as the usual claims you might expect ("1. A transgenic zebrafish or progeny fish thereof comprising a transformation event comprising a chromosomally integrated expression cassette encoding a fluorescent protein"), there are others which creatively cover downstream (excuse the pun) sales of the fish: "6. A method of providing a transgenic fish to the ornamental fish market, comprising obtaining a transgenic zebrafish or a progeny thereof in accordance with claim 1, and distributing the fish to the ornamental fish market." This ties in with GloFish(R)'s terms of sale, which (quite responsibly) forbid "Intentional breeding and/or any sale, barter, or trade, of any offspring of GloFish® fluorescent ornamental fish".

A small reminder that IP issues touch on many unexpected aspects of aquarium keeping.

It is a rare example of a transgenic animal accidentally becoming established in nature, and a concern for biologists, who worry the exotic fish could threaten the local fauna in one of the most biodiverse spots on the planet.

www.science.org/...