On 16th July the European Parliament unanimously passed the first reading of the directive on the Legal Protection of Bio-technology Inventions. The first version of this directive was voted down in March 1995 because it was felt that there were insufficient restrictions contained in that version with particular reference to clarifying the difference between a discovery and an invention. The second version was much clearer about the difference between a discovery and an invention and specifically only an invention could be protected - not a discovery. In other words, simply by discovering or isolating or sequencing a part of the human genome, a person or a company would not be put in a position to patent same. This distinction was seen as essential to avoid a situation whereby the patenting system could be abused with a resulting detrimental effect on research to find treatments for genetic disorders.

The directive was hotly contested and vigorously opposed by the "Green" lobby and some reservations were expressed by some Consultant Geneticists about such things as the potential increase in costs of genetic tests arising from patenting. In general, however, it is felt that the directive is essential if the bio-tech companies are to be encouraged into the field of research and there is a strong view among scientists that if therapies are to be developed and brought to the stage where they can be applied in a clinical situation, commercial partnership will have to be encouraged.