Bio-Patents, Law and Ethics - A Critical Analysis of the EU Biotechnology Directive

Abstract

The present paper examines the current European and international patent law framework for biotechnological inventions. Patent law is not a mere technical issue, however. Ethics forms an integrated part of patent law as well. We therefore also review the current attempts to take into account the ethical concerns with regard to the patenting of biological material. Although the EU Biotechnology Directive has adapted patent law to the new reality of biotechnology in many ways, various issues remain unsettled and call for further reflection and debate. We critically analyse some topical matters and offers some alternative scenarios and we conclude by pointing out some encouraging developments.

Keywords: Patents, Biotechnological inventions, Ethics, Morality, EU Biotechnology Directive

JEL Classification: I18, K11, O32, O34, H51