The Human Genome Diversity Project: The Politics of Patents at the Intersection of Race, Religion, and Research Ethics

27 Law & Policy 152-188 (Special issue on Law, Technology and Development), 2005

Reprinted in William Gallagher, ed., Intellectual Property (a volume in the International Library of Essays in Law and Society, Aldershott: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007)

38 Pages Posted: 9 Jul 2014

See all articles by Bita Amani

Bita Amani

Queen's University - Faculty of Law

Rosemary J. Coombe

York University - Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies; York University

Date Written: 2005

Abstract

The patenting of human genetic materials provokes wide-ranging misgivings about the appropriate place and scope of intellectual property protections. The issues implicated range from anti competitive practices in the market, the imposition of limits on biomedical research, increasing costs for health care, research ethics, potentials for racial discrimination, and various violations of human rights. Exploring controversies around the Human Genome Diversity Project, patents on genetic sequences, and patents on higher life forms such as the so called "Harvard mouse," the authors find that North American patent policy has developed in the absence of necessary political debate. They link this de-politicization to the hegemony of neo-liberal principles most fully demonstrated by the incorporation of intellectual property under international trade negotiations. They point, however, to the recent emergence and increasing audibility of new social movements that seek to reposition issues of intellectual property in larger debates about human rights, distributional equalities, and social justice

Keywords: Human genome project, Patents, Biomedical research

Suggested Citation

Amani, Bita and Coombe, Rosemary J., The Human Genome Diversity Project: The Politics of Patents at the Intersection of Race, Religion, and Research Ethics (2005). 27 Law & Policy 152-188 (Special issue on Law, Technology and Development), 2005, Reprinted in William Gallagher, ed., Intellectual Property (a volume in the International Library of Essays in Law and Society, Aldershott: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2463829

Bita Amani (Contact Author)

Queen's University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Macdonald Hall
Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6 K7L3N6
Canada

Rosemary J. Coombe

York University - Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies ( email )

Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://www.yorku.ca/rcoombe/publications.htm

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
66
Abstract Views
1,058
Rank
613,074
PlumX Metrics