This is just me being pedantic, but I want one exception to this - every person, upon birth, should receive an automatic instantaneous patent on their own genome (and only their own genome) that is valid for the lifetime of the owner. I should be free to be able to sell this patent, but upon first sale, the patent expiration rules change to the default.
This raises a good point - perhaps I'm not looking for a patent, but rather a copyright. My goal is to ensure that the only legal owner of my particular genome is myself, and thus I can authorize who can possess a copy of it and issue 'licenses'. In fact, the more I think about it, the concept of patenting a particular genetic code is akin to patenting the contents of a book; it just doesn't apply.
...except that a book is an original work - your genome is derivative of your parents, and very similar to your relatives, and still somewhat similar to people of your ancestry.
I get the argument that it is a derivative work, but a personal genome also has the unique property of literally being the absolute essence of my own person. I morally and ethically possess a right to the usage of that essence, and I think it would be a very good idea for society to set up a legal framework that protects that right.
