CRISPR is a genetic engineeringGenetic engineering is a broad term that refers to the manipulation of an organism’s genetic (DNA) method that allows for the precise alteration of an organism’s DNA. Typically, when people talk about CRISPR, they are referring to the CRISPR/Cas9 system. CRISPR stands for ‘Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats’ and refers to short genetic sequences that guide cutting enzymes to specific sections of DNA. Cas9 is an enzyme that cuts DNA. Together, they form the CRISPR/Cas9 system which can be thought of as “genetic scissors”. The intellectual property underlying the CRISPR/Cas9 system triggered a still ongoing decade long patent battle to determine who owns the core IP. There is much at stake as whoever ends up with IP rights also wins the potential to generate huge financial returns and can decide who is able to use the technology.