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About this book
Starting in the 13th century, this book explores how patents have been used as an economic protectionist tool, developing and evolving to the point where thousands of patents have been ultimately granted, not over inventions, but over isolated or purified biological materials. DNA, invented by no man and once thought to be 'free to all men and reserved exclusively to none', has become cartelised in the hands of multinational corporations in the 20th century. This book questions whether the continuing grant of patents can be justified when they are now used to suppress, rather than promote, research and development in the life sciences.
Contents
Contents: Part I: Monopolies in the Age of Free Trade 1. The Early History of Anglo-American Patent Systems 2. Patents and their Use in Economic Warfare 3. Patent Monopolies versus Free Trade 4. The Patent Systems of Continental Europe 5. The Internationalisation and Harmonisation of Patent Systems Part II: The Patenting of Biological Materials: The Monopolisation of Nature 6. The Isolation Contrivance 7. Anything Under the Sun Made by Man 8. The Invention of Nature? 9. Gene Wars 10. Synthetic Biology and a Time for Reflection Bibliography Index
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