Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
Millennia after the emergence of ancestral human collective memory and storytelling, scientists are revisiting the human body as a viable means of data storage and retrieval. The human brain alone contains the capacity to store large volumes of information – an estimated one million gigabytes – that may be retrieved at a moment’s notice. Current literature describes technology capable of archiving vast amounts of data within DNA data storage repositories, such as within computer databases or networks. DNA storage capacity exceeds even that of high-capacity computer data storage vehicles. Questions exist regarding ownership of data stored within DNA. Beginning with the Copyright Act of 1790, copyright law has continuously adapted to accommodate changes in modes of data storage and technology used to comprise tangible means of expression. The expansion of the Copyright Act of 1976 greatly benefited the field of computer technology. Computers utilize and process data in many ways, including Random Access Memory (RAM) and the use of software, which raise questions about copyright data fixation. Computer systems, although imperceptible to the human eye, offer a multitude of options for tangible fixation of data through software, source code, object code, and other means. Prior to 1978, copyright owners largely lacked power to control copies whose contents were not visible to the naked eye. By 1978, the effective date of the Copyright Act of 1976, the need for copies to be visually perceptible to the naked eye was eliminated for most works. In a manner similar to that of computers, DNA-created works may be considered fixed tangible media of expression that can be retrieved, interpreted, communicated, and displayed through biotechnological means and methods. Since the DNA copyrighted work is likely fixed at the time of incorporation into the human cell, movement into the human cell should not impact the copyright ownership status of the initially copyrighted work. Copyrighted works stored within DNA libraries housed within human cells may remain the property of the original owner and/or creator. Yet, many scholars and experts disagree. In fact, the Compendium of US Copyright Practices interprets 17 USC § 102(b) and 37 CFR § 202.1(b) to mean that DNA sequences cannot be registered for copyright. However, the case for copyrightability supports the fact that the Compendium is an interpretation of the law by the Copyright Office and not a literal reading of 17 USC § 102(b) and 37 CFR § 202.1(b). Thus, the Compendium interpretation may not continue to survive judicial scrutiny as time progresses and DNA technology advances. This paper will discuss DNA data and computer data storage and retrieval, along with the legal challenges of DNA as an information storage medium, specifically focusing upon copyrightability and copyright infringement.

Myrick, Dorkina, Assessment of Copyright Infringement in DNA Copies of Literary Works (December 26, 2025).