On June 13, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Association for Molecular Pathology et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al. (No. 12-398), addressing the patent-eligibility of claims to genetic material. The Court ruled that claims to sequences of DNA “isolated” from cells are not eligible for patent because they are “products of nature.” This holding contravenes the U.S.P.T.O.’s long-standing position that such claims are patent-eligible and undercuts the viability of such claims in existing patents and pending applications. The Court also ruled, however, that claims to synthetic sequences of DNA that are chemically distinct from sequences that exist naturally in cells are patent eligible. Specifically, cDNA—synthetic molecules of DNA whose sequence of nucleotides has portions missing when compared to endogenous genes—were held to be patent-eligible because no such molecules naturally exist. The Court further noted that other synthetic DNA molecules that differ chemically from native genes may similarly be patent-eligible, as may “applications of knowledge” of genes’ sequences.