Questions regarding what the law ‘ought to be’ matter a great deal, particularly in areas of law that impact directly on health and healthcare. Tune in to a short clip from a lecture I presented back in 2013 on gene patents where we explored what the law ‘is’ and what the law ‘ought to be’. Although this was a hot topic at the time, we have moved forward to explore other issues within the law and there are new challenges on the horizon.