Celebrities are being offered the right to copyright their DNA by a Californian firm, in an effort to protect them from rogue cloning. Theoretically it would be possible for a fan to obtain some of their favourite star's DNA and use this for cloning to get the 'ultimate piece of celebrity memorabilia'.

The DNA Copyright Institute, based in California, will sell individual copyrights for $1,500 a piece - this does not include registration with the US Copyright Office. Andre Crump, founder and president of the company, said that the copyrights would be offered to 'average Joes' as well, but that celebrities would be most likely to be cloned against their will.

Lawyers have commented that DNA cannot be copyrighted, but the company insists that its service is legally valid and that a clone, because it shares the same genetic make up as the original, would be in violation of copyright and so could be sued. But New Scientist has pointed out that clones may not be exact copies of the original anyway, with the influence of mitochondrial DNA.