Intellectual property and genetic sequences: moving towards an integrated information system
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Manuel Duval
Abstract
Granting patents on genes and gene products is not a recent development. In 1982, USPTO granted a patent for a synthetic influenza gene product1. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released a gene-patent guideline2 reinforcing this established fact by demonstrating that, under the criteria of utility, novelty and nonobviousness, there are no objections to the patentability of genes. The EU Directive (98/44) embraces similar conclusions3. Since the inception of large scale international genomics projects in the late nineteen eighties, numerous patent applications for genes are entering the pipeline. This has created a logistical challenge for the Patent Offices in terms of searching what is public art, and for industrial and academics institutions, for freedom-of-use and infringement types of searches. The latter point is critical. This article addresses the means by which prior art investigation can be improved when applied to genetic sequence based invention.
© Walter de Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their utilization: developments under the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Biotechnology Patents and Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Emerging Issues (Part II)
- Biotechnology, Patents and the Need for a ‘Fair Use’ Exception in U.S. Patent Law
- Access to Genetic Resources and the FAO Treaty. The Case of Andean Countries
- Intellectual property and genetic sequences: moving towards an integrated information system
- A Cause of Action for “Wrongful Birth” Under Austrian Tort Law: Don’t Take the Civil Code too Seriously!
- The Social Impact of Gender and Culture on Decision-Making in Genetic Testing
- Regulating Biotechnology
Articles in the same Issue
- Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their utilization: developments under the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Biotechnology Patents and Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Emerging Issues (Part II)
- Biotechnology, Patents and the Need for a ‘Fair Use’ Exception in U.S. Patent Law
- Access to Genetic Resources and the FAO Treaty. The Case of Andean Countries
- Intellectual property and genetic sequences: moving towards an integrated information system
- A Cause of Action for “Wrongful Birth” Under Austrian Tort Law: Don’t Take the Civil Code too Seriously!
- The Social Impact of Gender and Culture on Decision-Making in Genetic Testing
- Regulating Biotechnology
