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DIRECTIVE 98/44/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 6 July 1998 on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions
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This is the original version (as it was originally adopted).
1.Inventions shall be considered unpatentable where their commercial exploitation would be contrary to ordre public or morality; however, exploitation shall not be deemed to be so contrary merely because it is prohibited by law or regulation.
2.On the basis of paragraph 1, the following, in particular, shall be considered unpatentable:
(a)processes for cloning human beings;
(b)processes for modifying the germ line genetic identity of human beings;
(c)uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes;
(d)processes for modifying the genetic identity of animals which are likely to cause them suffering without any substantial medical benefit to man or animal, and also animals resulting from such processes.
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