Patents on Life Religious, Moral, and Social Justice Aspects of Biotechnology and Intellectual Property

This volume brings together a unique collection of legal, religious, ethical, and political perspectives to bear on debates concerning biotechnology patents, or 'patents on life'. The ever-increasing importance of biotechnologies has generated continual questions about how intellectual property law should treat such technologies, especially those raising ethical or social-justice concerns. Even after many years and court decisions, important contested issues remain concerning ownership of and rewards from biotechnology - from human genetic material to genetically engineered plants ? and regarding the scope of moral or social-justice limitations on patents or licensing practices. This book explores a range of related issues, including questions concerning morality and patentability, biotechnology and human dignity, and what constitute fair rewards from genetic resources. It features high-level international, interfaith, and cross-disciplinary contributions from experts in law, religion, and ethics, including academics and practitioners, placing religious and secular perspectives into dialogue to examine the full implications of patenting life.

1. Introduction Roman Cholij; Part I. Life Patents, Law, and Morality: 2. Morality, religion, and patents Kathleen Liddell and Simon Ravenscroft; 3. Religious and moral grounds for patent-eligible subject matter exclusions Joshua D. Sarnoff; 4. Life-form patents: proceedings in the European Patent Office and the role of non-commercial parties Christopher Rennie-Smith; Part II. Religious Perspectives on Life Patents: 5. Intellectual property rights and the fundamental right to the Commons in the light of Catholic social teaching Monsignor Osvaldo Neves de Almeiad; 6. Human rights and life patents: lessons from the Church's social teaching and engagement in the United States Stephen M. Colecchi; 7. Intellectual property and genetic sequences: a Jewish law perspective Michael J. Broyde and Steven S. Weiner; 8. Intellectual property, Islamic values, and the patenting of genes Mohammed El Said; 9. Christian libertarianism and the curious lack of religious objections to the patenting of life forms in the United States Paul J. Heald; 10. From 'Chakrabarty' to 'Myriad' and beyond: Catholic contributions to the gene patenting debate Paul J. Wodja; Part III. Social Justice and Political Aspects: 11. 'Thou shalt not steal': the morality of compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical patents Margo Bagley; 12. Genetic resources and patents: in search of ethical solutions to global IP discord Roman Cholij; 13. Patent for life: towards an ethical use of patents on plant innovations Michael A. Kock; 14. Germline modification of human embryos, patents and the limits of markets: rethinking equality, human diversity, and the question of innovation funding Katerina Sideri; 15. Patent governance, ethics, and democracy: how transparency and accountability norms are challenged by patents on stem cells, gametes, and genome editing (CRISPR) in Europe Ingrid Schneider; 16. Life patents, religion, and justice: a summary of themes Thomas C. Berg.

Thomas C. Berg is James L. Oberstar Professor of Law and Public Policy at the School of Law, University of St Thomas, Minnesota. He is a leading scholar of church-state relations and a leader in exploring the intersection of intellectual property, religion, and social ethics.
Roman Cholij is Research Associate at the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry, St Edmund's College, Cambridge and a Chartered Trade Mark Attorney. He has written two books, several book chapters and numerous articles on various aspects of law and of theology.
Simon Ravenscroft is the Arts Outreach Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge and a Research Associate of the Von Hügel Institute for Critical Catholic Inquiry at St. Edmund's College, University of Cambridge. He has published on a range of topics across the fields of theology, philosophy, and social theory.