Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories

Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories is a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case that dealt with whether a diagnostic test that measures drug levels in the blood could be patented. The Court ruled that the test was not patentable because it merely applied laws of nature, which cannot be patented. This decision reinforced the idea that while inventions can be protected, fundamental scientific principles and naturally occurring phenomena should remain accessible for everyone to use in advancing science and medicine. The ruling aimed to balance innovation with public access to basic scientific knowledge.