How about the way we do it now, with patents on devices, therapies, and drugs that are approved by the FDA instead of on the techniques used to develop them? There is even a way to extend the patent life of these developments to account for the amount of time it takes to receive government approval with a maximum term of 14 years after approval [1]. Patenting such a fundamental technique as CRISPR will only set back research for more than a decade and
prevent most investors from funding further research while giving companies a huge headstart if they are located outside of the USPTO's jurisdiction.
[1] http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/SmallBus...
