Biotechnological Inventions Moral Restraints and Patent Law

Advances in modern biotechnology have produced profound and far-reaching implications for the relationship between humans, animals and the environment. As a result, a debate has arisen surrounding the legal, moral and social problems connected with this technology, a central part of the debate focusing on the role of moral considerations in the patent system as a form of regulation. This fully revised and updated book examines this role and asks why in the context of biotechnological inventions, morality has become an important issue. It takes account of recent developments, including reference to the situation in Australia. By examining such specific recent cases, the author elucidates the moral concerns associated with modern biotechnology, thus providing an important contribution to the debate and a valuable resource for all those working in this exciting field.

Contents: Preface to the revised edition; Biotechnological inventions: the moral debate; Development of a European and UK moral regime, Development of patent law in the United States; Application of Article 53 European Patent Convention; Patent law criteria and biotechnological inventions; Protection conferred in the United States; Protection conferred under the Biotechnology Directive 1998; Plant variety protection: UPOV, community, directive; Recent EU initiatives: likely impact on moral concerns; Bibliography; Index.

Dr Oliver Mills teaches Law at the National University of Ireland, Galway. His interests are in the area of Intellectual Property Law - in particular moral issues associated with the patenting of biotechnological inventions. He has published widely on this and related subjects.