The BBC reports that the groups that first genetically sequenced SARS is seeking a patent on that sequence in order to forestall any efforts by commercial first to patent the gene sequence and possibly charge for access to the virus’s genes.
This is where intellectual property laws start to get very bizarre. It makes sense, IMO, to allow the patenting of very specific genes for very specific purposes. If a company spends tens of millions of dollars finding the gene for some human disorder and finally succeeds, as a society we should want to reward them with intellectual property for their discovery in order to encourage other companies to do the same.
Similarly, companies that create genetically modified animals should also be allowed to pursue patents on their inventions.
But giving patent rights for the entire sequence of an organism such a virus? That seems a lot more like some of these open ended Internet patents that have attempted to cover broad areas such as hypertext linking or a patent on frames.