The European Patent Office (EPO) has already granted many hundreds of patents on genetically engineered plants and animals and has even started to grant patents on normal, non-modified plants.
However, legally speaking, there is still uncertainty on where patentability ends. Both the EPC and the EU directive 98/44/EC set limits to patentability of living organisms. Nevertheless, the EPO has repeatedly granted patents which clearly go beyond these limits. Some of them have been revoked following an opposition procedure. In other cases the EPO has interpreted the laws in such a way as to undermine the limits of patentability.
You can find more info about the most important patents which have been disputed and which are important for the development of case law in the area of plants and animals here .
