Biotechnology and patents

Abstract

Legal nature, macro and micro economic importance of patents, differences in propensity towards patenting and their consequences. Brief comparison of US and European patent law with regard to patentability of biotechnological inventions. The regime adopted under the EU Biotechnology Directive, especially as regards the patentability of DNA sequences, as well as plants and animals. Addressed were also the issues of prior informed consent in case of the use of biological material of human origin and the implications of early publication of raw sequence data.