Patents on Life

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.

'… wonderful book …' Ira Bedzow, Journal of Law and Religion

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.