Biobank Donors and the Concept of Benefit: Time for Reciprocity

Abstract

Helen Yu’s insightful article entitled ‘Redefining responsible research and innovation for the advancement of biobanking and biomedical research’ highlights the potentially crucial role of intellectual property regimes in encouraging and facilitating genomics innovations. Yu claims that one of the central objectives in ‘responsible research and innovation’ is the maximization of the value of publically funded research. She contends that this entails the return of benefit to society through, generally speaking, the production of new innovations. But this understanding, according to Yu, gives rise to novel challenges to the logic of intellectual property. This is so because patent law requires that new technologies not have undergone previous disclosure, while principles of open science require real time disclosure. This tension is heightened because the protections of intellectual property law are necessary for the safeguard of research and development.

Keywords: biobank, donors, reciprocity