Biotechnology V/s Intellectual Property

Biotechnology V/s Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property is the term used to describe the branch of law, which protects the application of thoughts, ideas, and information, which are of commercial value. It thus covers the law relating to patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other similar rights (Cornish, 1989). MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY -- or "biological engineering," as some have called it -- has excited the imaginations and provoked the concerns of almost every part of society

Biotechnology companies and much of the mass media tout advances in modern biotechnology as little less than miraculous. The new techniques of engineering life are said to be responsible for two revolutions in contemporary society: a technological revolution, which promises solutions to hunger and disease, and a productive revolution, which will increase the efficiency of research development and manufacture of new products. Coupled with strong domestic and international intellectual property rights, such as patents, biotechnology becomes a tool for transferring technology and securing new markets in the global economy. The temporary monopoly of new technologies permitted by patents give national economies a comparative advantage in trade. Moreover, recent developments in intellectual property law have allowed unprecedented claims to be made to the whole or parts of living organisms and have undermined traditional notions of "public domain" and common ownership.

Intellectual property protection for biotechnology is currently in a state of flux. Whilst it used to be the case that living organisms were largely excluded from protection, attitudes are now changing and increasingly biotechnology is receiving some form of protection.

Trademarks are also unlikely to be of much use in protecting biotechnology, though they may of course prove important later in regard to marketing products, processes or services. An attempt to register the name of a plant or an animal, as a trademark is unlikely to be successful as public policy would prevent it.

A patent is a grant of exclusive rights for a limited time in respect of a new and useful invention. The exact requirements for grant of a patent, the scope of protection it provides and its duration differs depending on national legislation. However, generally the invention must be of patentable subject matter, novel (new), non-obvious (inventive), of industrial application and sufficiently disclosed. A patent will provide a wide range of legal rights, including the right to possess, use, transfer by sale or gift, and to exclude others from similar rights. Duration will be for around 20 years (although for only 17 years in the USA). These rights are generally restricted to the territorial jurisdiction of the country granting the patent and thus an inventor wishing to protect his/her invention in a number of countries will need to seek separate patents in each of those countries.

Since a better understanding of intellectual property by research scientists and university/institute administrators will increase the pace of research for technological development in biotechnology. In the present, we will discuss the various intellectual properties relevant to developments in biotechnology. In the next chapter, we will discuss the specific problem of patenting of biological material, the problem related with deposit of material for obtaining the patent claim and the international conventions in this connection.