Law Commons^™

Beyond Recombinant Technology: Synthetic Biology And Patentable Subject Matter, Luigi Palombi

Luigi Palombi

Even though it is not yet clear as a matter of law that isolated biological materials are indeed patentable subject matter, not only have patents over such materials continued to be granted throughout the world, but the European Parliament passed the Biotechnology Directive in 1998 in an attempt to put an end to the debate. The problem is that TRIPS requires that patents be granted for 'inventions' only and there is a real question over whether isolated biological materials or those made by the use of synthetic biology are indeed inventions within the meaning of the word in TRIPS. But …