Patents and ethics is it possible to be balanced

National Institutes of Health, U. National Library of Medicine. Accessed 12 October World Intellectual Property Organization. Albin, Ramona C. The framers of the U. Constitution believed that intellectual property rights were crucial to scientific advancement. Yet, the framers also recognized the need to balance innovation, privatization, and public use. The courts' expansion of patent protection for biotechnology innovations in the last 30 years raises the question whether the patent system effectively balances these concerns.

While the question is not new, only through a thorough and thoughtful examination of these issues can the current system be evaluated. National Academies. Committee on Science Engineering and Public Policy.

Washington, D. The third edition of this publication is designed to supplement the informal lessons in ethics provided by research supervisors and mentors. The book describes the ethical foundations of scientific practices and some of the personal and professional issues that researchers encounter in their work.

It applies to all forms of research--whether in academic, industrial, or governmental settings-and to all scientific disciplines. See specifically pages for the section on intellectual property. Moore, Adam, and Ken Himma. This entry provides a detailed overview of intellectual property and its related ethical questions, including some critiques of intellectual property and how it limits free speech and the use of ideas and inventions in some contexts.

Splawinski, Jacek. Patents and Ethics: Is it possible to be balanced? Legislative Landmarks of Forensics: California v. Greenwood and Shed DNA. Calculation of Complex Disease Risk. Gene Therapy. Personalized Medicine: Hope or Hype? Pharmacogenetics, Personalized Medicine, and Race. Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine. Medical Careers: Genetic Screening and Diagnostics. Citation: Norrgard, K. Nature Education 1 1 Intellectual property rights offset the financial risks of funding research but limit information access.

Can a balance between private interests and public desire for treatments be achieved? Aa Aa Aa. As the patent owner, MCH has the legal right to exclusively perform Canavan genetic testing or to demand licensing fees and royalties from non-patent holders who want to perform clinical testing.

The Greenbergs and other Canavan families believe that this patent makes screening for Canavan disease less widely available and more expensive than it should be. This example is just one of a number of situations that raise the question of whether gene patenting is helpful or harmful to society.

The Patent System. Historical Precedent. According to the revised guidelines, a novel DNA sequence is patentable only if a demonstrable usefulness of the DNA sequence is disclosed in the application: If a patent application discloses only nucleic acid molecular structure for a newly discovered gene , and offers no utility for the claimed isolated gene, then the claimed invention is not patentable.

Challenges to Gene Patents. Figure 1: Dominique Stoppa-Lyonnet. Stoppa-Lyonenet co-wrote a paper that found a mutation in the Brca1 gene that Myriad's test would not have found.

Laure All rights reserved. Working with the System. References and Recommended Reading Abbott, A. Joint press release accessed September 29, Gillis, J. Washington Post December 30, Hollon, T. Federal Register 66 , — accessed September 29, Wallace, S. Article History Close. Share Cancel. Revoke Cancel. Keywords Keywords for this Article. Save Cancel. Flag Inappropriate The Content is: Objectionable. Flag Content Cancel.

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