Over the last years, the patenting of genetic tests sparked significant interest worldwide. Newspapers commented on patent cases and, quite often, portrayed patents as a negative story. The commotion surrounding the current patent framework for genetic testing is hardly surprising. Although...

The relationship between human rights and intellectual property (IP) rights has been under-theorized for a long period. IP rights have remained a “normative backwater” in the burgeoning post-World War II human rights movement. Only over the last decade, human rights discourse has gained...

The present paper examines the relationship between price differentiation and intellectual property rights (IPRs). We explore this relation from two opposing, yet complementary angles. First, we investigate whether IPRs form a barrier to differential pricing. Do pharmaceutical patents hinder the...

Framing the problem: The current patent landscape for human genomic science has refuelled the debate on human gene patents. Expressed in figurative language, concerns are raised that patent thickets and blocking patents will lead to a tragedy of the anti-commons, and that new genetic inventions...

Background of the Report: On April 24 2001 the European Commission appointed the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). In his welcome message President Prodi requested the Group to give an Opinion on the ethical aspects of patents resulting from research into stem...

Recent years have seen a remarkable increase in patents in the field of information, communication and entertainment (ICE) technology and biotechnology. The growth of patents in those areas has triggered serious concern about access to ICE and genome related inventions, as the rise of patents...

The present paper explores the multi-layered relationship between plant patents, the right to food and competition law. The present contribution takes the view that the growing tendency to appropriate agricultural crops through intellectual property (IP) – thereby making a pivotal shift from...

In the delicate interaction between intellectual property and public interest, two antinomian questions come to the fore. The first question is to what extent patent law guarantees public interest, contributes to public interest or, on the contrary, limits public interest. The second question is...

Intellectual property rights have, from their inception, been shaped by international treaties. National legislators have had to look at the international scene to gain some insight into the prevailing intellectual property standards. This trend was less prominent in the field of patent law and...

The production of biodiversity-based drugs has gained wide interest and concern. Two main approaches can be observed. The majority of legal thinking has been focusing on models protecting (and preserving) biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge to fit the needs of biodiversity and...