Supporters of the law believe it will encourage investment in biotechnology

Euro Parliament Allows Patenting of Genes - Plant, Animal and Human

The Directive was approved by MEPs on Strasbourg on Wednesday, following intense lobbying by industrial and medical groups. The text makes clear that "discoveries" of elements which already exist in nature can never be patented, but patents on "inventions" using such elements are allowed.

But what has outraged some left-wing and Green MEPs is the fact that the law permits the patenting of human genes and other parts of the body if they are "isolated from the human body or otherwise produced by means of a technical process."

David King, Editor of GenEthics News, tells the BBC that it's "against common sense to patent life"

Supporters of the proposal said it was necessary to harmonise EU law on the patenting issue in order to encourage further investment in biotechnology. The result was welcomed by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries' Associations, which said the protection for investment offered by patenting would help European companies catch up with their American and Japanese competitors.

Environmental activists in Strasbourg slammed the decision. One statement accused the MEPs of having "voted against the expressed concerns of virtually all sectors of European civil society to allow patents on life - for the sole benefit of the large biotech companies."