Description
Book SynopsisThis book examines patent law and policy in biotechnology across the full lifecycle of the patent, focusing on the patent bargain and the public interest. It considers the central issues of how to strike an effective balance of rights, and whether public interest is adequately safeguarded - two issues that are particularly important in areas of rapidly emerging technology.
Expert contributors are brought together to explore patent eligibility in biotechnology, focusing on the fields of precision medicine, biofabrication and non-invasive prenatal testing. Chapters also explore the construction and coherence of exceptions to patentability,an examination of FRAND licensing in the context of the internet of medical things, and the possibility of using licensing to encourage or ensure the ethical use of patented technologies.
With its carefully constructed analysis, this book will be an excellent resource for academic researchers, and students, in the fields of biotechnology law, pharmaceutical law and intellectual property law. It will also be useful for legal practitioners and policymakers, as well as charitable bodies and non-governmental organisations.
Trade Review‘This fresh, timely collection examines the fundamental patent balance; that between private rights and access to innovation. In the context of biotechnology, the collection queries whether the patent system effectively protects the public interest in innovation and access to medical technology. The collection provides a truly international perspective by considering developments in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It will be of wide interest to scholars, policy-makers, students and non-government actors across many jurisdictions.’ -- Alison McLennan, University of Canberra, Australia
‘This is an excellent and exciting collection edited by a highly respected scholar. It explores the always relevant and complex, and evolving, question of patenting biotechnological innovation and the public interest, and the extent to which the public interest is delivered. Dr Hawkins has led a team of the highest quality, with contributors from throughout the world exploring a valuable and innovative range of legal fields, perspectives, technologies and ethical questions. The conclusion, of the need for a multifaceted and coherent legal approach, is compelling.’ -- Abbe Brown, University of Aberdeen, UK
Table of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction – patenting biotechnical innovation: in the public interest? 1 Naomi Hawkins 2 Patent eligibility and precision medicine: emerging technologies, legal flux and empirical methods 19 Andrew Sagar, Kathleen Liddell, Johnathon Liddicoat and Mateo Aboy 3 Non-invasive prenatal testing and the resilience of the patent system 43 Dianne Nicol and Jane Nielsen 4 Patentability of biofabricated human organs: ‘products of nature’ or ‘products derived from nature’ revisited 69 Pheh Hoon Lim and Phoebe Li 5 A problem of interpretation: is Article 53(a) EPC necessarily restrictive of emerging technologies? 90 Ella O’Sullivan 6 Invoking the public interest in the European patent system 110 Karen Walsh 7 Repositioning the access to healthcare debate: FRAND and the Internet of Medical Things 137 Alison Slade 8 Accounting for ethical considerations in the licensing of patented biotechnologies and health-related technologies: a justification 164 Aisling McMahon 9 Patents and the public interest: a multi-faceted approach 197 Naomi Hawkins Index
