Hardback
Biotechnology, Patents and Human Rights in Europe
Innovations Concerning the Human Body
9781803920252 Edward Elgar Publishing
This innovative book explores the complex interplay between intellectual property for biotechnological innovations and human rights. Examining the clash between the drive to incentivise innovations that can fulfil human needs and the desire to grant global access to healthcare technologies, it presents thoughtful solutions to the challenges of protecting the human rights of all parties impacted by biotechnological patents and other relevant IP rights.
More Information
Critical Acclaim
Contents
More Information
This innovative book explores the complex interplay between intellectual property for biotechnological innovations and human rights. Examining the clash between the drive to incentivise innovations that can fulfil human needs and the desire to grant global access to healthcare technologies, it presents thoughtful solutions to the challenges of protecting the human rights of all parties impacted by biotechnological patents and other relevant IP rights.
After laying out the essential biotechnological innovations of the last 40 years, the authors conduct an in-depth analysis of European exclusive rights relating to biotechnology and healthcare, with particular attention to five key European jurisdictions – France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK. Delving into complex legal and ethical disputes over the rights to privacy, integrity, autonomy, health and science, the book argues for a more balanced patent system, protecting both human rights and intellectual property.
This book will be a thought-provoking read for legal scholars, practitioners and policy-makers in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceutical law, human rights law and intellectual property law. With its in-depth discussion of cutting-edge advances in biotechnology and the laws related to it, it will also prove enlightening for scholars and students interested in engaging with the field for the first time.
After laying out the essential biotechnological innovations of the last 40 years, the authors conduct an in-depth analysis of European exclusive rights relating to biotechnology and healthcare, with particular attention to five key European jurisdictions – France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK. Delving into complex legal and ethical disputes over the rights to privacy, integrity, autonomy, health and science, the book argues for a more balanced patent system, protecting both human rights and intellectual property.
This book will be a thought-provoking read for legal scholars, practitioners and policy-makers in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceutical law, human rights law and intellectual property law. With its in-depth discussion of cutting-edge advances in biotechnology and the laws related to it, it will also prove enlightening for scholars and students interested in engaging with the field for the first time.
Critical Acclaim
‘This book is thoughtful and well-written. It raises crucial legal, ethical, and moral questions that humanity will need to ask itself with the continuing advancements in medicine, artificial intelligence, pandemic preparedness, and patents. In short, this is a serious and even must-read for any scientific academic and practitioner in this area, as well as any competent lawyer or civil servant seeking to regulate and understand the different and competing interests.’
– Isaac Maka, Legal Issues Journal
‘This well-researched and informative book provides a unique insight into the complex intersections of biotechnology, patents and human rights in Europe. The authors distil the issues from a complicated web of laws and policies. Researchers and policy-makers should read this book to both understand how the law works and also how it might be improved.’
– Susy Frankel, University of Wellington, New Zealand
‘Patents in the field of biotechnological innovations as well as their enforcement have always triggered important tensions with a broad variety of human rights, in particular the right to health, human dignity, and the right to science. This very timely book explores these interactions, using an international, European and comparative law approach and offers a very stimulating analysis of the multiple legal and moral aspects of the topic, laying the foundation for an ethical approach to patent law in the future in the field of biotechnology.’
– Christophe Geiger, Luiss Guido Carli University, Italy
‘Focusing on the sphere of biotechnology, this book commands the attention of both the legal and scientific communities. For lawyers, it provides a detailed background on recently-developed medical technologies and discusses their impact on personal integrity and health care. For scientists, it explains the nature of the exclusive rights that national laws create to encourage investment in biotechnological innovation. For both communities, the book then provides a thoughtful discussion of approaches to balancing the interests of right holders against the human rights to health and to the benefits of science. Biotechnology is not the only sphere where intellectual property and human rights clash; the analysis provided here will be invaluable when other emerging problems, including climate change, pollution, and food security, arise.’
– Rochelle Dreyfuss, New York University, School of Law, US
– Isaac Maka, Legal Issues Journal
‘This well-researched and informative book provides a unique insight into the complex intersections of biotechnology, patents and human rights in Europe. The authors distil the issues from a complicated web of laws and policies. Researchers and policy-makers should read this book to both understand how the law works and also how it might be improved.’
– Susy Frankel, University of Wellington, New Zealand
‘Patents in the field of biotechnological innovations as well as their enforcement have always triggered important tensions with a broad variety of human rights, in particular the right to health, human dignity, and the right to science. This very timely book explores these interactions, using an international, European and comparative law approach and offers a very stimulating analysis of the multiple legal and moral aspects of the topic, laying the foundation for an ethical approach to patent law in the future in the field of biotechnology.’
– Christophe Geiger, Luiss Guido Carli University, Italy
‘Focusing on the sphere of biotechnology, this book commands the attention of both the legal and scientific communities. For lawyers, it provides a detailed background on recently-developed medical technologies and discusses their impact on personal integrity and health care. For scientists, it explains the nature of the exclusive rights that national laws create to encourage investment in biotechnological innovation. For both communities, the book then provides a thoughtful discussion of approaches to balancing the interests of right holders against the human rights to health and to the benefits of science. Biotechnology is not the only sphere where intellectual property and human rights clash; the analysis provided here will be invaluable when other emerging problems, including climate change, pollution, and food security, arise.’
– Rochelle Dreyfuss, New York University, School of Law, US
Contents
Contents: An introduction to the current discussion about biotechnology, patents and human rights 1. What is being patented? An inquiry into recent developments in life sciences through the lens of patents 2. The patentability of inventions relating to the human body: non-technical exclusions to patentability and their normative basis 3. Patents for inventions concerning biological material contained in the human body in the light of human rights 4. Protection of health care innovation versus the rights to health and science 5. Challenges of IP for ground-breaking biotechnological innovation 6. Human rights of inventors and patentees versus rules of patent protection Index
