Patent Politics

Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe

Häftad, Engelska, 2020

AvShobita Parthasarathy

229 kr

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Over the past thirty years, the world’s patent systems have experienced pressure from civil society like never before. From farmers to patient advocates, new voices are arguing that patents impact public health, economic inequality, morality—and democracy. These challenges, to domains that we usually consider technical and legal, may seem surprising. But in Patent Politics, Shobita Parthasarathy argues that patent systems have always been deeply political and social. To demonstrate this, Parthasarathy takes readers through a particularly fierce and prolonged set of controversies over patents on life forms linked to important advances in biology and agriculture and potentially life-saving medicines. Comparing battles over patents on animals, human embryonic stem cells, human genes, and plants in the United States and Europe, she shows how political culture, ideology, and history shape patent system politics. Clashes over whose voices and which values matter in the patent system, as well as what counts as knowledge and whose expertise is important, look quite different in these two places. And through these debates, the United States and Europe are developing very different approaches to patent and innovation governance. Not just the first comprehensive look at the controversies swirling around biotechnology patents, Patent Politics is also the first in-depth analysis of the political underpinnings and implications of modern patent systems, and provides a timely analysis of how we can reform these systems around the world to maximize the public interest.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2020-10-26
Mått152 x 229 x 23 mm
Vikt399 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor304
FörlagThe University of Chicago Press
ISBN9780226759135

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Naturvetenskapens historia inom Naturvetenskap och teknik

Acronyms and AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter One: Defining the Public Interest in the US and European Patent SystemsChapter Two: Confronting the Questions of Life-Form PatentabilityChapter Three: Commodification, Animal Dignity, and Patent-System PublicsChapter Four: Forging New Patent Politics Through the Human Embryonic Stem Cell DebatesChapter Five: Human Genes, Plants, and the Distributive Implications of PatentsConclusionAcknowledgmentsAppendix 1: Major Events Related to the US and European Life-Form Patent ControversiesAppendix 2: Methodological NoteNotesBibliographyIndex

“Novel life forms designed using genetic engineering have spawned a host of ethical concerns since 1973. By the early 1980s, the possible commercialization of genetic techniques and the resulting novel organisms led to legal concerns as scientists and companies were seeking patents. This book discusses how genetic engineering affected the patent process and continues to push the definition of what can be patented. The book begins with descriptions of how the American and European patent systems differ in their philosophies for awarding patents. This contrast is important for understanding how patents encounter political concerns when genetic engineering products and technologies are globally marketed. Much of the difference has to do with a government’s viewpoint on valuing corporate growth or protecting public interests. The book then introduces the philosophical concerns about patenting novel life-forms. In the latter chapters, other ethical issues and moral concerns are raised related to animal dignity, human stem cells, and novel life-forms.... Unbiased and accurate assessments are applied in each chapter. The author concludes the book with a proposition for an objective model for setting up equitable life-form patents. This is an excellent book for biotechnology and business law library collections. Highly recommended.”