| Whether you are employed as a scientist or as a | | | | address hunger. |
| company do research anywhere in California, including | | | | And while stem cell researchers apparently patent |
| cities where biotechnology and other medical science | | | | the most, they collaborate least according to the |
| is being studied or where research takes place, | | | | report. |
| especially the areas around cities such as San Diego, | | | | What happens is that "blocking patents" act as |
| Irvine, Orange County, Los Angeles, La Jolla, | | | | barriers to research and advances in biotechnology |
| Riverside, Fullerton, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and | | | | that could advance cancer treatment, new medicines |
| other cities where there are universities or large | | | | and new crops. |
| research projects taking place in the U.S. and | | | | When biotech firms race to file a "fortress" of |
| throughout the world, you know that patent laws | | | | patents around newly discovered genes, research by |
| and patent licensing is acting as a barrier to medical | | | | their competitors is effectively blocked. |
| and biotechnology research and preventing advances | | | | Another example given by scientists is work on |
| in science. | | | | genes that cause breast cancer in European countries |
| It doesn't take a California patent attorney or CA | | | | that has been held up by patents held on specific |
| patent lawyer to say how the world's patent system | | | | genes by one biotech company in the U.S. With |
| is today acting as a barrier to medical and | | | | patients in European countries unable to meet the |
| biotechnology research that could solve many of | | | | cost of certain cancer screening tests, they have |
| today's worst diseases and preventing breakthrough | | | | been effectively denied access to such tests. |
| treatments, medicines and even new seeds for | | | | A recommendation of the report is that companies |
| better crops. | | | | should be allowed to form "patent pools" where they |
| A new report has come out after a seven year | | | | could cross-license their patented technologies |
| study and confirmed what most patent licensing | | | | without losing royalties from their patents. It is also |
| lawyers, medical researchers and biotechnologists | | | | recommended that governments develop other public |
| have known for years. The patent system in force | | | | and private partnerships to conduct joint research. |
| worldwide is broken and preventing breakthroughs in | | | | The criticism of the current patenting system is that |
| science. | | | | it acts more as a barrier than as an incentive to |
| Without a means for sharing information, blocking | | | | research and the development of medical or other |
| patents are causing delays in developing advances in | | | | biotechnological breakthroughs. |
| cancer medicine treatments and in the development | | | | When a patent office grants dangerously broad |
| of new food crops. | | | | patents, entirely new areas of research, such as in |
| The report performed by a Canada based | | | | the field of nanotechnology, can be cut off. |
| partnership cited as examples of medical advances | | | | So long as intellectual property and patent laws act |
| being delayed as those of HIV/Aids drugs and cancer | | | | as a barrier from others utilizing and expanding upon |
| screening tests. | | | | one scientist's research, the laws will prevent |
| Of concern to scientists is an increasingly bare | | | | scientists from making advances that can benefit |
| medicine chest of new life-saving medicines that are | | | | mankind. This lack of sharing is preventing |
| critical not just to the developing world but to the | | | | biotechnology from becoming the field that it once |
| industrialized nations as well to address disease. New | | | | promised. |
| food crops are also lagging behind that could help | | | | |