Open Innovation with Large Bioresources: Goals, Challenges and Proposals

35 Pages Posted: 23 Dec 2016 Last revised: 19 Jan 2017

See all articles by John Liddicoat

John Liddicoat

King’s College London; University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law; University of Tasmania

Kathleen Liddell

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law

Date Written: December 22, 2016

Abstract

This report is from a Cambridge Workshop on the openness of large bioresources in synthetic biology and genomics (e.g. the 100,000 Genomes Project), held on 28 January 2016. Research in SB and Gx depends on the use of collections of tissue and data, commonly known as bioresources. Substantial amounts of time and money are being spent on creating these bioresources and it is likely that significant scientific breakthroughs and development of end-products may be missed or delayed if the tissue and data in these resources are not shared. Accordingly, the ‘openness’ of these bioresources — in other words, the ability for other researchers to access, use, and share these resources (which is typically recorded in a bioresource’s IP and access policy) — is a key issue for the success of bioresource initiatives and the progress of SB and Gx. There are, however, many different approaches to openness, and the development and dissemination of new knowledge are not necessarily advanced by distributing material at low cost or without any restrictions; time-limited rights of control (e.g. IP rights) may provide a useful incentive. It is a significant challenge to develop a fit-for-purpose openness policy that balances the advantages (and disadvantages) of different approaches to openness. The Workshop addressed this challenge by: reviewing openness policies adopted by large bioresources; eliciting ideas about access and intellectual property; debating the applicability of different openness policies; and identifying relevant areas for future research.

Keywords: intellectual property, patents, bioresources, biobanks, synthetic biology, synbio, genomics, genomic medicine, IP policy, access policy, openness, open innovation, open science, open source

JEL Classification: O3, O30, O31, O32, O33, O34, O38, I23, K11, K2, K39, L16, L22, L23, L65, L88

Suggested Citation

Liddicoat, Johnathon and Liddell, Kathleen, Open Innovation with Large Bioresources: Goals, Challenges and Proposals (December 22, 2016). University of Cambridge Faculty of Law Research Paper No. 6/2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2888871 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2888871

Johnathon Liddicoat (Contact Author)

King’s College London ( email )

Strand
London, England WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom

University of Tasmania ( email )

French Street
Sandy Bay
Hobart, Tasmania 7001
Australia

Kathleen Liddell

University of Cambridge - Faculty of Law ( email )

10 West Road
Cambridge, CB3 9DZ
United Kingdom

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