Dear Mr. Woestendiek:

As CEO of BioArts International, which is preparing to offer 5 commercial dog cloning slots to the general public on July 5th, and also recently announced plans to clone Trakr, a heroic 9/11 search and rescue dog for free, I am responding to your comments in your blog of July 1, 2008, to the effect that:

1) RNL Bio of Korea claims to be the sole authorized agent for dog cloning, and
2) That RNL is in the process of fulfilling the world's first commercial dog cloning order.

Neither claim is true. To answer the second claim first: I personally have already taken delivery of the world's first commercial dog clones - the 3 clones of my family dog Missy, one of which is sleeping at my feet right now. Before my company hired the Sooam Biotech Center to produce cloned dogs for our commercial auction, which runs from 7/5-7/9, we "tested" their capabilities with a separate (6-figure) contract for the cloning of Missy. That contract is 100% complete and paid at this point - so RNL can no longer claim be the first to reach that particular milestone.

Regarding the first claim, BioArts has successfully obtained the sole worldwide license under the Roslin patent family to clone dogs, cats and endangered species. Both BioArts and Start Licensing (the holder of these rights) issued press releases announcing our license agreement in late May of this year (both releases are available at www.bestfriendsagain.com). The relevant patents in the U.S. and Korea are identified below for your reference. The claims in the Roslin patents relate to a method of cloning for all mammals. Although the technique was first successful with sheep, the claims are not limited to sheep (in fact, the word "sheep" does not appear once in the patents). These patents cover, among other claims, the process of nuclear transfer into enucleated M-II stage ova. Given the broad scope of these patents, only authorized licensees can clone a mammal with this step in the cloning process. To our knowledge, all mammalian cloning ever performed (including by SNU independently and on behalf of RNL) has involved nuclear transfer into M-II stage ova, which are elements of these patented claims. Accordingly, any person practicing mammalian cloning needs to have rights to do so under the Roslin patent family. The fact that RNL has been issued a patent for special cloning techniques for dogs – even assuming this patent holds up to scrutiny – does not allow RNL to incorporate the Roslin claims into their process. In patent law terms, the Roslin patents are considered "foundational" patents and the SNU patent is considered an "improvement". Those practicing an improvement still need the rights to the underlying foundational technology to avoid infringing. Courts around the world understand and respect these principles and no amount of press releases can change this reality.

Regarding claims that SNU (and RNL by extension) could potentially block BioArts or Sooam from cloning dogs using the SNU patents, this would be a case of the tail wagging the dog. The SNU patents are, at best, improvements to Start Licensing's foundation patents. Sooam uses a fundamentally different approach to address the unique challenges to dog cloning, and thus BioArts and Sooam are not infringing the SNU patents.

In summary, because BioArts holds the sole license for dog cloning under the foundational Roslin cloning patents, and because BioArts and Sooam do not infringe on the SNU improvement patents, we continue to maintain that SNU/RNL's dog cloning services are unlawful - basically "black market cloning" - while BioArts' are perfectly legal. Start Licensing has delivered a formal Cease & Desist letter to RNL as of Monday, June 30, using a Korean law firm, which should provide a clear indication of what lies ahead.

Relevant patents in U.S. and Korea

- Quiescent cell populations for nuclear transfer (U.S. # 7,232,938 and
Korea # 10-0533476 and 10-0793220)

- Unactivated oocytes as cytoplast recipients for nuclear transfer (U.S.
# 6,252,133; 6,525,243; 7,332,648; 7,307,198; 7,304,204; 7,326,824;
7,321,075; 7,329,796; 7,321,076, 7,326,825 and Korea # 10-0533477 and
10-0743006).

Thanks,
Lou Hawthorne, CEO
BioArts International

Lou,

Have you considered donating some of your profits to shelters to help homeless animals?

Sorry, but when there are so many animals in need, I have a real problem with cloning to make new ones. As much as I adore my dog, when he goes, I'll be at the shelter saving another one.

I do make an exception in the case of endangered species.

Thank you for saying that Lou, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have been reading so much about this commercial dog cloning circus, and it makes me feel like people are treating dogs like money making objects. A clone of your dog, is not your dog. If it were, why don't we just clone our entire family so we won't mind so much when they pass away? We don't because they are unique and cannot be replaced, and it is the same with dogs. Adopt the suffering homeless dogs that need our help so desperately. Saving a dog at a shelter would be a much greater tribute to your dog.

Unsure if the following comment is a statement or a question, but in either case, here are the facts as I understand them. BioArts International claims the cloning of Missy, a dog belonging to the BioArts CEO was the first commercial cloning, and yes, that was done by Sooam. Since it was done in the name of furthering the business of BioArts, which is now in partnership with Sooam, it's debatable whether that can be considered a "commercial cloning," or at least the first for a pet owner who had no connection with the companies. RNL Bio claims its soon to be born clones of Booger, a California woman's pit bull, is the first commercial cloning. Hwang was an integral part of the first cloning of a dog -- Snuppy -- when he was a member of the Seoul National University research team. After his firing, he started Sooam. John W.

Then the first commercial cloning was done by Sooam, a Korean firm led by a disgraced scientist, Dr. Hwang?