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This title was first published in 2000. This work documents an international and interdisciplinary workshop on the ethical aspects of the patenting of biotechnological inventions, including genes, plants and animals. The public perception is discussed, along with how these perceptions relate to ethical, social and cultural factors. The legal framework in Europe is laid out by several experts in the field of patent law and the situation in the US is also briefly described. This edition also includes a general discussion of three important theories called upon to justify the patent system: the natural rights argument; the distributive justice argument; and the utilitarian argument. The chapter about the European Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions has been updated. A selection of provisions from the August 1997 draft as well as the final text of the Directive, as adopted on 12 May, 1998, are discussed and commented upon. The patent provisions of the TRIP's Agreement (the Agreement on Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights, concluded in 1994 as an Annex to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization) are also discussed and criticized, paying particular attention to the implications for biotechnology patents. Finally, the question is asked whether the developing countries stand to gain anything from TRIPs. A look at the results of empirical research, conducted by commentators on the economics of patenting, reveals that the new patent regime may prove to entail significant costs for the developing countries. This second edition also contains material on the EU Directive on biotechnology patents adopted in May 1998, justificatory theories of the patent system and the TRIP's agreement on Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights, concluded in the GATT (WTO) framework.
List of contents
1: European patent law and biotechnological inventions; 1: Biotechnology: Scientific Aspects; 2: Plant biotechnology: historical perspective, recent developments and future possibilities; 3: Plant biotechnology and its future impact on science, agriculture and the environment; 4: Biomedical applications of biotechnology; 2: Public Perception of Biotechnology; 5: Adolescents’ opinions about genetic risk and genetic testing; 6: Intrinsic value of balanced views and policies on biotechnology; 7: Biotechnology-related consensus conferences in Denmark; 3: Ethical, Social and Cultural Aspects of the Biotechnology Debate; 8: Ethical aspects of genetic engineering; 9: Biotechnology policy and ethics; 10: Cultural background of the ethical and social debate about biotechnology; 11: The virtual reality of the biotechnology debate; 4: Legal Framework: Patentability In Europe and the US; 12: Biotechnology patents in Europe: from law to ethics; 13: Types of invention in the field of genetic engineering, arising in the practice of the European Patent Office; 14: Patents and morality; 15: Biotechnology patents in the United States; 16: The new proposal for a Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions; 5: The Case For And Against The Patenting Of Biotechnological Inventions; 17: Jan Van Rompaey; 18: Isabelle Meister; 19: Jan Mertens; 20: Steve Emmott; 21: Daniel Alexander; 22: Michel Vandenbosch; 23: Michiel Linskens; 24: Christoph Then; 25: Luc Vankrunkelsven; 26: R. Stephen Crespi; 27: Summary of the questions; 6: The Debate; 28: Biotechnology and the public debate: some philosophical reflections; 29: Summary of the discussions; 7: Comments and Conclusions; 30: Comments on the proceedings of the conference on biotechnology, patents and morality; 31: Patents and morality: a philosophical commentary on the conference ‘Biotechnology, patents and morality’; 32: Conclusions
About the author
Sigrid Sterckx
Summary
First published in 2000. This work documents an international and interdisciplinary workshop on the ethical aspects of the patenting of biotechnological inventions, including genes, plants and animals. The public perception is discussed, along with how these perceptions relate to ethical, social and cultural factors.
