La biología sintética en el panorama de las patentes biotecnológicas

Abstract

Recently, the intended positive effects of the current patent system in biotechnological research have been widely questioned. As part of this review, it is discussed here one of the foundations of the model. The assumption of the indispensability of patents is examined through the analysis of their expected benefits; namely, that patents are suitable to ensure access to information, access to and use of inventions and, finally, that they should promote both creativity and research. Applied to synthetic biology, in spite of newly discovered techniques and promising products, this approach reveals that this discipline also encounters similar issues. However, it also offers a new vision of intellectual property rights and their effects on research, which is based on a different conception of the commons and its relationship with private ownership of intangible assets in the knowledge economy.