Life Sciences Commons^™

When John Locke Meets Lao Tzu: The Relationship Between Intellectual Property, Biodiversity And Indigenous Knowledge And The Implications For Food Security, Paolo Davide Farah, Marek Prityi

Articles

This article aims to examine the relationship between the concepts of intellectual property, biodiversity, and indigenous knowledge from the perspective of food security and farmers’ rights. Even though these concepts are interdependent and interrelated, they are in a state of conflict due to their inherently enshrined differences. Intellectual property is based on the need of protecting individual property rights in the context of creations of their minds. On the other hand, the concepts of biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and farmers’ rights accentuate the aspects of equity and community. This article aims to analyse and critically assess the respective legal framework and …

A New Addition To The Trademark Litigator's Tool Kit: A Neuroscientific Index Of Mark Similarity, Mark Bartholomew, Zhihao Zhang, Ming Hsu, Andrew S. Kayser, Femke Van Horen

Journal Articles

With trademark law always striving to keep abreast of new developments in science and technology, the authors of this article propose an innovative, neuroscience-based approach to answering the time-honored question of whether likelihood of consumer confusion exists in a particular dispute.

From Scanner To Court: A Neuroscientifically Informed “Reasonable Person” Test Of Trademark Infringement, Zhihao Zhang, Maxwell Good, Vera Kulikov, Femke Van Horen, Mark Bartholomew, Andrew S. Kayser, Ming Hsu

Journal Articles

Many legal decisions center on the thoughts or perceptions of some idealized group of individuals, referred to variously as the “average person,” “the typical consumer,” or the “reasonable person.” Substantial concerns exist, however, regarding the subjectivity and vulnerability to biases inherent in conventional means of assessing such responses, particularly the use of self-report evidence. Here, we addressed these concerns by complementing self-report evidence with neural data to inform the mental representations in question. Using an example from intellectual property law, we demonstrate that it is possible to construct a parsimonious neural index of visual similarity that can inform the reasonable …

Nonobvious Design, Mark Bartholomew

Journal Articles

To earn patent protection, a claimed product design must be “nonobvious.” Yet while nonobviousness has been described as “the heart” and “cornerstone” of the utility patent system, in the design patent context, the term has become next to useless. Instead of actually policing nonobviousness in design, modern courts grant patent rights to any work that is not an exact replica of another. The problem, judges maintain, is that comparing one visual design against another demands the use of aesthetic judgment and aesthetic judgment is an instinctual, subjective process incapable of legal definition. Recent neuroscientific studies of aesthetic judgment dispel some …

A Qualitative Look Into Repair Practices, Jumana Labib

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This research poster is based on a working research paper which moves beyond the traditional scope of repair and examines the Right to Repair movement from a smaller, more personal lens by detailing the 6 categorical impediments as dubbed by Dr. Alissa Centivany (design, law, economic/business strategy, material asymmetry, informational asymmetry, and social impediments) have continuously inhibited repair and affected repair practices, which has consequently had larger implications (environmental, economic, social, etc.) on ourselves, our objects, and our world. The poster builds upon my research from last year (see "The Right to Repair: (Re)building a better future"), this time pulling …

A Call For The Library Community To Deploy Best Practices Toward A Database For Biocultural Knowledge Relating To Climate Change, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this paper, a call to the library and information science community to support documentation and conservation of cultural and biocultural heritage has been presented.

Design/methodology/approach – Based in existing Literature, this proposal is generative and descriptive— rather than prescriptive—regarding precisely how libraries should collaborate to employ technical and ethical best practices to provide access to vital data, research and cultural narratives relating to climate.

Findings – COVID-19 and climate destruction signal urgent global challenges. Library best practices are positioned to respond to climate change. Literature indicates how libraries preserve, share and cross-link cultural and scientific knowledge. …

Copyright And The Creative Process, Mark Bartholomew

Journal Articles

Copyright is typically described as a mechanism for encouraging the production of creative works. On this view, copyright protection should be granted to genuinely creative works but denied to non-creative ones. Yet that is not how the law works. Instead, almost anything—from test answer sheets to instruction manuals to replicas of items in the public domain—is deemed creative and therefore eligible for copyright protection. This is the consequence of a century of copyright doctrine assuming that artistic creativity is incapable of measurement, unaffected by personal motivation, and incomprehensible to novices and experts alike. Recent neuroscientific research contradicts these assumptions. It …

The Intellectual Property Of Covid-19, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

The response to COVID-19 is indissolubly tied to intellectual property. In an increasingly globalized world in which infectious disease pathogens travel faster and wider than before, the development of vaccines, treatments and other forms of medical technology has become an integral part of public health preparedness and response frameworks. The development of these technologies, and to a certain extent the allocation and distribution of resulting outputs, is informed by intellectual property regimes. These regimes influence the commitment of R&D resources, shape scientific collaborations and, in some cases, may condition the widespread availability of emerging technologies. As seen throughout this chapter, …

Copyright And The Brain, Mark Bartholomew

Journal Articles

This Article exploresthe intersection of copyright law, aesthetic theory, and neuroscience. The current test for copyright infringement requires a court or jury to assess whether the parties’ works are “substantially similar” from the vantage point of the “ordinary observer. ”Embedded within this test are several assumptions about audiences and art. Brain science calls these assumptions into question. The substantial similarity test posits that aesthetic reactions are unmeasurable and uniform. In actuality, they can be quantified and vary depending on audience and artistic medium. Neuroscience has already reconfigured the law in many areas, from tort damages to the death penalty. Now …

How Small Cannabis Businesses Can Survive The Hurdles Of Ip Protection, Spencer Keller

Texas A&M Law Review

The current state of cannabis and intellectual property laws and regulations leaves small and emerging cannabis businesses at a distinct disadvantage compared to those in other industries. Those wishing to pursue cannabis inventions and patents face an uphill battle as cannabis research and development is nearly impossible to conduct legally. The difficulty in researching cannabis has pushed companies to move their research outside of the United States, leaving those growing businesses unable to corner their market in the cannabis industry. Complicating matters further are the overly broad patents that cannabis patentees are likely receiving as a result of market participants …

Rethinking Fda Regulation Of Complex Products, Philip E. Alford

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Silencing Innovation: The Patent Eligibility Of Sirna Therapeutics, Alexander M. Walker

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

The Fallacy Of Defensive Protection For Traditional Knowledge, Margo A. Bagley

Faculty Articles

Proponents of databases as defensive protection posit that having sources of traditional knowledge easily accessible to, and searchable by, examiners during the prosecution process should minimize the grant of patents covering traditional knowledge, and avoid the problems such erroneously granted patents may produce. Some countries, such as India, which support an international sui generis positive protection instrument, also support the use of traditional knowledge databases, as the two approaches are not mutually exclusive. India's CSIR, which created and maintains the TKDL, asserts that the database has thwarted the grant of scores of patents in IP offices across the globe, although …

Intellectual Property, Surrogate Licensing, And Precision Medicine, Jacob S. Sherkow, Jorge L. Contreras

IP Theory

The fruits of the biotechnology revolution are beginning to be harvested. Recent regulatory approvals of a variety of advanced therapies—Keytruda (pembrolizumab), Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), and patisiran—have ushered in an age of “precision medicine” treatments that target patients’ specific genetic, physiological, and environmental profiles rather than generalized diagnoses of disease. Therapies like these may soon be supplemented by gene editing technologies such as CRISPR, which could enable the targeted eradication of deleterious genetic variants to improve human health. But the intellectual property (IP) surrounding precision therapies and their foundational technology remain controversial. Precision therapies ultimately rely—and are roughly congruent with—basic scientific information …

Is Genetic Use Restriction Technology (Gurt) A Viable Alternative To The Utility Patent For The Protection And Promotion Of Innovation In Genetically Engineered Agricultural Seeds?, Joseph Rosenblat

PhD Dissertations

Patent protected genetically engineered (GE) agricultural seeds allow farmers to increase the quality and yield of some of the worlds most important food crops. The ability of GE seed firms to use this technology to capture value and promote innovation may be compromised by patent regimes that are not designed to prevent the misappropriation of self-replicating, biologically-based inventions.

Unlike patents, genetic use restriction technology (GURT) provides a primarily self-contained technological method of intellectual property (IP) protection effective in weak IP environments. Currently, GURT is subject to an international commercialization moratorium because of concerns over potential negative economic, environmental, health and …

Plant Variety In The Republic Of Korea: Seed Industry Law, Yoonjin Buyn

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The European Patent Office And The European Patent: An Open Avenue For Biotechnologists And "Living Inventions", Katrina Mcclatchey

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Biogechnology: United States Statutory Law, Jo Lynn Jeter

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The International Treaty On Plant Genetic Resources For Food And Agriculture: Friend Of The International Farmer, Steven M. Ruby

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The "Onco-Mouse" Decisions On The Exception To Patentability For "Animal Varieties" Under The European Patent Convention, Katrina Mcclatchey

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Novartis On The European Patent Convention's Exception To Patentability For "Plant Varieties", Katrina Mcclatchey

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Biotechnology: U.S. Policy Regarding Patent Applications, Jo Lynn Jeter

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Upov System Of Protection: How To Bridge The Gap Between 1961 And 1991 In Regard To Breeders' Rights, Steven M. Ruby

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Biotechnology: United States Case Law, Jo Lynn Jeter

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Protection Of Plant Varieties And The Farmer's Rights Act, Robyn Ott

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Do The Evolution: The Effect Of Ksr V. Teleflex On Biotechnology, Josh Harrison

Oklahoma Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

Copyright And The Use Of Images As Biodiversity Data [Forum Paper], Willi Egloff, Donat Agosti, Puneet Kishor, David J. Patterson, Jeremy A. Miller

Concepts in Animal Parasitology Textbook

Taxonomy is the discipline responsible for charting the world’s organismic diversity, understanding ancestor/descendant relationships, and organizing all species according to a unified taxonomic classification system. Taxonomists document the attributes (characters) of organisms, with emphasis on those can be used to distinguish species from each other. Character information is compiled in the scientific literature as text, tables, and images. The information is presented according to conventions that vary among taxonomic domains; such conventions facilitate comparison among similar species, even when descriptions are published by different authors.

There is considerable uncertainty within the taxonomic community as to how to re-use images that …

Antimicrobial Resistance (Amr) And Multidrug Resistance (Mdr): Overview Of Current Approaches, Consortia And Intellectual Property Issues, Andrew Jenner, Niresh Bhagwandin, Stanley P. Kowalski

Law Faculty Scholarship

The supply of new diagnostics and treatments is insufficient to keep up with the increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and multidrug resistance (MDR) as older medicines are used more widely and microbes develop resistance to them. At the same time, significant quantities of antibiotics are used on patients and animals that do not need them, while others who do need them lack access.

Effective responses to AMR/MDR require effort by both the public and private sectors to develop and disseminate new diagnostics, vaccines and treatments on a global scale, as well as to adapt them to local needs. This calls …

How Do The Social Benefits And Costs Of The Patent System Stack Up In Pharmaceuticals?, Daniel J. Gifford

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

This paper explores the workings of the patent system in the context of the generation of new pharmaceutical products. First it identifies the relevant characteristics of the patent system and its relation to the market. The paper concedes that, in general, the patent system is probably the best way of generating new technology, in substantial part because that system uses the market to provide both incentives and rewards. The paper also identifies downsides of this patent/market system: deadweight loss and the unresponsiveness of that patent/market system to the needs of the poor. The paper then explores the social costs and …

Impeding Access To Quality Patient Care And Patient Rights: How Myriad Genetics' Gene Patents Are Unknowingly Killing Cancer Patients And How To Calm The Ripple Effect, Marisa Noelle Pins

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.