Patents, Bioethics and the Human Body: Reconceptualising Bioethics in Patent Decision-Making and the Governance Function of Patents

Introduction

PatentsInHumans challenges the current marginalisation of bioethics in patent decision-making for technologies related to the human body. A patent gives a rightsholder the right to stop others from using a patented technology. This allows them to control how that technology is provided, to whom, and on what terms.

Bioethical Issues

Where patents are for technologies related to the body, this control poses considerable bioethical issues because patents can affect how we treat, use, and modify bodies. Yet patent systems generally do not engage with such implications. All patents are treated the same, regardless of the underlying technology; for example, a patent on an engine part is treated the same as a patent on a medicine, despite the significant effects the latter has for health.

Self-Reinforcing Cycle

PatentsInHumans proposes that there is a self-reinforcing cycle where:

1. Patents are granted even if bioethical implications are posed by patents over such technologies.
2. There are limited incentives for rightsholders to license patents in a way that addresses bioethical implications.
3. Patents, once granted, are difficult to challenge if bioethical issues arise.

Radical Reconceptualisation

PatentsInHumans radically reconceptualises patents as governance devices over the body in such contexts. It proposes that when patents are applied for, the underlying technology’s relationship to the body must be considered.

Evaluation of Bioethical Implications

The project will therefore evaluate the bioethical implications that patents over such technologies have for how we treat, use, or modify our bodies. These implications must guide patent decision-making and the adoption of licensing or grant conditions that pre-empt bioethical issues.

Cross-Disciplinary Institutional Analysis

The project develops a cross-disciplinary institutional analysis to evaluate key legal, structural, and cultural barriers leading to the marginalisation of bioethics in patent decision-making. It aims to formulate pathways to bring bioethics into patent decision-making for technologies related to the body, with important conceptual and policy implications.