The new millennium has been described as ‘the century of biology’, but scientific progress and access to medicines has been marred by global disputes over ownership of the science by universities and private companies. This book examines the challenges posed by the modern patent system to the right of everyone to access the benefits of science in international law. Aurora Plomer retraces the genesis and evolution of the key Articles in the UN system (Article 27 UDHR and Article 15 ICESCR). She combines the historiography of these Articles with a novel perspective on the moral foundations of rights of access to science to draw out implications for today’s controversies on patents in the life-sciences. The analysis suggests that access to science as a fundamental right requires both freedom from political and religious interference and the existence of enabling research institutions and educational facilities which promote the flow of knowledge through transparent and open structures. From this perspective, the global patent system is shown to fail spectacularly when it comes to the human rights ideal of universal access to science. The book concludes that a fundamental restructuring of patent institutions is required, in which democratic oversight of patent policies would ensure meaningful realization of the right of everyone to access the benefits of science. Students and scholars of international law, particularly those focusing on intellectual property and human rights, will find this book to be of considerable interest. It will also be of use to practitioners in the field.

An exploration of the tension between human rights and patent law, with reference to developing countries' access to affordable medicines.

Patents, Human Rights and Access to Science offers a discerning insight into the disputes which have erupted in the constitutional courts of Europe and the US over the grant of gene patents and stem cell patents. Retracing the rationale for the juxtaposition of private and public rights of access to science in international law, this book develops a normative framework to analyze the contribution of the UN, ECOSOC and UNESCO in elaborating on the normative content of Article 27 UDHR and Article 15 ICESCR.

This collection of essays examines central issues of property theory from a variety of perspectives.

This book examines one of the most controversial aspects of the world trading system: patents and access to medication, and offers approaches to tackle the issue of how to better accommodate human rights in the trading system.

As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.

Millions of people worldwide lack adequate access to medicines, particularly in developing countries where resources are scarce with devastating human, social and economic consequences. The example of HIV/AIDS, for which treatment has advanced so significantly in the last decade that a diagnosis no longer necessarily brings with it a death sentence, highlights the importance of ensuring that essential medicines are affordable and accessible to all. This book focuses on one aspect of access to medicines: the affordability of essential medicines, and its connection to human rights and patents. The argument often made is that patent protection for medicines results in higher prices which negatively impacts access. Patients having no or inadequate access to affordable medicines endangers the full realisation of human rights, particularly the right to health. This book investigates this issue from a legal perspective, taking both an international and domestic angle. This study examines the interface of access to affordable medicines and patent protection from the perspective of international human rights law and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) within the framework of the World Trade Organisation. The essential question posed by this book is whether access to medicines and patent protection conflict or coexist. The discussion is deepened by including a developing country approach. Three country studies have been conducted, on South Africa, India and Uganda. These aim to provide a concrete insight into whether these countries recognise and acknowledge the interplay between patents and human rights with respect to access to medicines. Secondly these studies examine whether TRIPS leaves sufficient freedom for (developing) states to adopt a patent system suited to their domestic needs, enabling them to strike a fair balance between access to medicines and patent protection for medicines. In other words: does one size fit all?This book is targeted at both academics and human rights practitioners, including government officials, human rights advocates and NGOs. It goes further than a mere theoretical discussion on the issue from an international law perspective by providing an in-depth examination of domestic (legal) frameworks relevant for the issue of access to medicines. It illustrates that the normative force of human rights in combination with social movement can provide a powerful tool for prioritising the health ne ...

The volume is devoted to the relevant problems in the legal sphere, created and generated by recent advances in science and technology. In particular, it investigates a series of cutting-edge contemporary and controversial case-studies where scientific and technological issues intersect with individual legal rights. The book addresses challenging topics at the intersection of communication technologies and biotech innovations such as freedom of expression, right to health, knowledge production, Internet content regulation, accessibility and freedom of scientific research.

Intellectual Property and Health Technologies Balancing Innovation and the Public's Health Joanna T. Brougher, Esq., MPH At first glance, ownership of intellectual property seems straightforward: the control over an invention or idea. But with the recent explosion of new scientific discoveries poised to transform public health and healthcare systems, costly and lengthy patent disputes threaten both to undermine the attempts to develop new medical technologies and to keep potentially life-saving treatments from patients who need them. Intellectual Property and Health Technologies grounds readers in patent law and explores how scientific research and enterprise are evolving in response. Geared specifically to the medical disciplines, it differentiates among forms of legal protection for inventors such as copyrights and patents, explains their limits, and argues for balance between competing forces of exclusivity and availability. Chapters delve into the major legal controversies concerning medical and biotechnologies in terms of pricing, markets, and especially the tension between innovation and access, including: The patent-eligibility of genes The patent-eligibility of medical process patents The rights and roles of universities and inventors The balancing of access, innovation, and profit in drug development The tension between biologics, small-molecule drugs, and their generic counterparts International patent law and access to medicine in the developing world As these issues continue to shape and define the debate, Intellectual Property and Health Technologies enables professionals and graduate students in public health, health policy, healthcare administration, and medicine to understand patent law and how it affects the development of medical technology and the delivery of medicine.

Biotechnology is a recognized research area that has increasingly advanced into new technologies and modern practices raising several legal, ethical and regulatory issues. The revolutionary speed of biotech innovations has had a significant impact on the protection of the rights of the individual. Fundamental rights provide a framework within which the justification of limitations and restrictions to biotechnology innovations and research results have to be assessed. The legal regulation of scientific research and scientific investigations impact more and more directly on the freedom of research and therapies as well as on the broad diffusion of knowledge. Closely related is also the debated question of the technological manipulation of life and the boundary of scientific knowledge with regard to the topical question of genetic invention patents and their side effects on access to scientific information and health care opportunities. Drawing on expertise from different disciplines, the volume comprises invited papers and plenary presentations given at the conference entitled “Biotech Innovations & Fundamental Rights” that took place on Januray 20-21 2011 at the Department of Juridical Sciences of the University of Ferrara. Each contribution covers a different aspect of the legal and scientific issues involved in regulation of biotechnology. In particular the focus of attention has been given to genetic research, genetic data, freedom of scientific research in genetics and biotech patents.