Biotechnology - Genomic and Proteomics/IP in BGP

Answer the questions:

• Define the main legal tools of protection (privatization) available for the field (patents, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, contracts, public domain) (remember the exercise done in genomics and proteomics).
  • (note to R.A. - try to create a matrix that cross references the previous two questions - let's try several ways to visualize how the narratives either hit barriers based on protection or can be synergistic via open licensing approaches - an example is the table in the Case Analysis Framework)

note: this section will need much, much more work

Because R&D costs are so high, and because once developed, a biotech product if (relatively) easy to produce, profitability in the industry rests on patents. In general firms that develop these new products will either bring them to market themselves, or license them out to larger pharmaceutical companies.

In this way, Biotech is not so different from the traditional drug industry. However, the key difference is that because the biotech industry is so young, it is possible to patent not just products but basic scientific processes, such as the Cohen-Boyer process of manipulating rDNA. While these patents may be extremely lucrative (the Cohen-Boyer process brought Stanford and the UC system US$255m), it almost certainly imposes a cost on future innovation. (Feldman pp. 1797)