The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week to decide whether human dna is patentable. Under U.S. Patent laws, to be elligible for patent protection, the invention must be directed towards patentable subject matter. Humans and other naturally occuring items are excluded from patent protection. Therefore the U.S. must decide if patent protection can extend to human dna.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=supreme-court-set-to-hear-arguments-on-whether-human-genes-can-be-patented