Patenting Lives Launch Meeting

1
Patenting LivesLaunch Meeting

• Johanna Gibson
• j.gibson_at_qmul.ac.uk
• Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research
  Institute
• 11 February 2005

2
What is Patenting Lives?

• AHRB funded research project
• Interdisciplinary research and output

3
Key Concerns

• To be identified by research group
• International harmonisation of patent standards
• Suitability of protection for life forms
• Development Agenda
• Cultural, social, economic development
• Indigenous and traditional communities
• Traditional Knowledge
• Access to Knowledge Campaign

4
Critical areas

• Agricultural biotechnologies
• Access to seed
• Uptake of GMOs
• Public interest and access
• TK and traditional agricultural communities
• Biodiversity and the environment
• Biopiracy and misappropriation of knowledge and
  resources

5
Critical Areas

• Public Health
• Traditional medicinal knowledge
• Access to medicines
• Cultural Diversity
• Public interest role of NGOs

6
Research Methodology

• Collaborative and distributed approach
• Discussion list
• Web-site www.patentinglives.org
• Media

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Time Line

• Expert meeting 11 February 2005
• Circulation of outputs February 2005
• Conference Call for Papers February/March 2005
  (subject to decisions regarding scheduling at
  first meeting)
• Working Paper February-April 2005
• Collaborative Publication of Working Paper April
  2005
• Next Expert Meeting June 2005 (date to be
  confirmed with participants)
• Policy Paper / Declaration September 2005
• Conference October 2005 (to be discussed)
• Edited Collection December 2005
• Ongoing Media Presence

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Patents on Biotechnological Inventions

• Living materials
• Patent as artificial separation of object from
  its environment
• Interaction with environment

9
Corporate Responsibility

• IP regimes and ethical context?
• Objects of trade/property vs environmental and
  cultural risk?

10
The Role of Consumer

• Consumer choice
• Branding
• Organic markets and traditional knowledge

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The Role of NGOs

• Mobilising the public interest
• Engaging the general public in debate
• Branding

12
Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources

• Need for binding international agreement
• Local customary laws
• Relevance of patent system
• Problems with contractual solutions
• Fundamental principles for adequate protection
• Mandatory disclosure of origin
• Prior informed consent
• Traditional systems
• Ownership
• Innovation

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Access to Knowledge

• Are limitations needed?
• Access to knowledge See also A2K campaign
  http//lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k
• Monopolies on public goods
• Misappropriation of traditional knowledge and
  genetic resources

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Onward