Hence the reference to the letter "Amicus Curiae" sent to the appeal panel by COMECE president Mgr Adrianus van Luyn and by former Secretary General Noël Treanor highlighting EPO’s "particular social responsibility" to state on "issues related to the inviolability and dignity of human life." According to COMECE, in these cases "the ethical dimension of the inventions to be patented cannot be ignored" and it is worth recalling that "the European Patent convention states that patents shall not be granted in respect of biotechnological inventions which use human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes." "There is a close connection between the use of human embryos and the human stem cell cultures," the statement ends. That is why "the two stages cannot be separated when assessing a patenting application." ” “” “
