Johanna Gibson researches and teaches intellectual property law at the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, within the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, University of London. Her research is primarily concerned with intellectual property and development, traditional knowledge, community governance, and cultural diversity. She has written widely on the social and cultural aspects of creativity and economies in knowledge and creative products, and has acted as a consultant to the UK and European Patent Offices on intellectual property law and policy. She continues to work on the politics of intellectual property and development.

• Introduction, Johanna Gibson; Part 1 Context; Chapter 1 The Legal Framework Surrounding Patents for Living Materials, Tony Howard; Part 2 Human Rights and Ethical Frameworks; Chapter 2 Life as Chemistry or Life asThe Right to Development, African Countries and the Patenting of Living Organisms, Adejoke Oyewunmi; Part 3 Medicine and Public Health; Chapter 4 The Genetic Sequence Right, Luigi Palombi; Chapter 5 Forfeited Consent, Angela A. Stanton; Part 4 Traditional Knowledge; Chapter 6 Beyond ‘Protection’, Daniel Robinson; Chapter 7 Plant Genetic Resources and the Associated Traditional Knowledge, Chika B. Onwuekwe; Part 5 Agriculture; Chapter 8 Analysis of Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Agrobiodiversity Conservation in Nepal, Diwakar Poudel, Fred H. Johnsen; Chapter 9 Is More Less?, Dwijen Rangnekar;

'Patenting Lives is a collection of lively and thought provoking essays which probe and challenge some existing paradigms in the law of patents and other rights when applied to biotechnology. These make a valuable and controversial contribution to a deeper understanding of such issues.' Trevor Cook, Bird & Bird, UK '... [this] book is very useful for IP experts, stakeholders, policy advisors, NGOs, students and researchers in the critical areas of IP law, and cultural studies.' Journal of Intellectual Property Rights