by funding made possible only through the private sector. Patents have provided an impetus for research to be pursued in that the end goal of money can be envisioned by companies with the funding cash. Especially during the ge- nomic era, more patents were issued. Companies and organizations like the University of California were patenting whole genomes. In 1998, the US. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issued abroad patent claiming primate (including human) embryonic stem cells, entitled "Primate Embryonic Stem Cells" (Patent 5,843,780). On 13 March 2001, a second patent (6,200,806) was issued with the same title but focused on human embryonic stem cells. Recently, there has been a slowdown and backlash against patenting biological ma-
