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What do you think of when you hear the word patent? A goggle-eyed scientist toiling at a row of steaming test tubes? Rube Goldberg crouched behind a maze of contraptions? The American patent system offers its inventors a deal: You come up with something that's useful and novel, and we'll protect your invention for a time, so that all of society can benefit. The light bulb comes to mind. But 20 years ago, the whole idea of patents broadened immeasurably, when a deeply divided U.S. Supreme Court allowed a man named Chakrabarty to patent a simple life forma bacterium known to gobble up oil molecules. Seven years later, scientists at Harvard patented a genetically engineered mouse. And more recently, companies in the United States have begun patenting plant varieties. But the genetic heritage of these plants often lies elsewhere, prompting fundamental questions of ownership, often accompanied by accusations of biopiracy. Sandy Tolan has the tale of a bean of a different color. And the problems it's creating.
"…the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world…" You know, Bogart may be right. But sometimes, in this crazy world, a hill of beans can add up to a hell of a problem. In our case, we start with three people whose livelihoods are tied to the mystery of the yellow bean. Why a mystery? Well first there's the question of origin.
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