Patenting of microorganisms

Patenting of microorganisms in India: a point to ponder

The arguments surrounding the merits and demerits of patents shift between the right of the inventor to enjoy the fruits of his labour and his duty towards the society. In the context of microorganisms, the most vital distinction between the legal practices of India and developed countries is that India does not allow patenting of microorganisms that already exist in nature but genetically modi...

Patenting of Genetic Inventions

The genetic inventions in the patent system are similar to chemical inventions. Genetic inventions that are patentable include genetic materials such as DNA, RNA, cDNA, EST’s (Expressed Sequence Tags), SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphs) and recombinant vectors. These inventions need to satisfy the criteria of patentability such as novelty, nonobviousness, utility, enablement and sufficiency of...

Patenting of genome research results.

In light of the enormous investments for the sequencing of genomes and the subsequent development of pharmaceuticals, obtaining patents for these results is a major goal of companies working in this area. This article focuses on the present situation concerning the possibility to obtain patent protection for genome research results, in particular at the European Patent Office (EPO), in the US a...

Patenting the human genome.

Patenting computer-designed peptides.

The problem of designing new peptides that possess specific properties, such as bactericidal activity, is of wide interest. Recently, attention has focused on the use of Computer-Aided Molecular Design techniques in parallel with more traditional 'synthesise and test' methods. These techniques may typically use Genetic Algorithms to optimise molecules based on Neural Network models that predict...