Concerns have been expressed that gene patents might result in restricted access to research and health care. The exponential growth of patents claiming human DNA sequences might result in patent thickets, royalty stacking and, ultimately, a 'tragedy of the anti-commons' in genetics. The essays in this book explore models designed to render patented genetic inventions accessible for further use in research, diagnosis or treatment. The models include patent pools, clearing house mechanisms, open source structures and liability regimes. They are analysed by scholars and practitioners in genetics, law, economics and philosophy. The volume looks beyond theoretical and scholarly analysis by conducting empirical investigation of existing examples of collaborative licensing models. Those models are examined from a theoretical perspective and tested in a set of operational cases. This combined approach is unique in its kind and prompts well founded and realistic solutions to problems in the current gene patent landscape.

An examination of legal measures which might be used to solve the problem of fragmentation of patents in genetics.

About the Author
Geertrui van Overwalle is head of the Patent Law Research Group at the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. She also teaches Intellectual Property Law and Patent Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the University of Liege.

Reviews
"Van Overwalle has done an excellent job in creating a compilation that offers diverse perspectives on the feasibility and desirability of translating successful licensing schemes from other industries (electronics, software, entertainment) to biotechnology." -J. Jonas Anderson,The IP Law Book Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780521896733
Author Geertrui van Overwalle
Format Hardback
Page Count 516
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 940g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 155mm * 27mm