However, if someone were to use the same process they used for gene insertion (which is more likely to be an invention than a gene they simply discovered), they

However, if someone were to use the same process they used for gene insertion (which is more likely to be an invention than a gene they simply discovered), they may have grounds to sue. The process for gene insertion for insulin was the Herbert/Boyer recombinant DNA patent that was widely licensed by Stanford: http://www.genome.duke.edu/centers/cpg/case-histories/seminal-genomic-technologies/cohen-boyer/ http://www.genome.duke.edu/centers/cpg/case-histories/semina... If I had to pick Genentech protecting their drug via a patent on an E.coli bacteria containing human insulin gene vs. the method to move the gene I'd take the former for sure. The method was much more broadly useful.