Patenting foundational technologies – recent developments in the CRISPR patent struggle

by Julian Cockbain[1] and Sigrid Sterckx[2] In a target article in this Journal in 2018, for which we were two of the co-authors, we discussed the problematic nature of the patenting of foundational (bio)technological processes, in particular the CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR) gene-editing technique. This note is intended to bring the Journal’s readers up to speed on a couple of important recent developments in the CRISPR patent sphere. In the case of CRISPR, the patent situation is complicated by the sheer number of parties seeking patents, as a result of which any entity seeking to use or develop CRISPR faces a forest of patent claims, and thus the task of negotiating multiple licenses and/or the prospect of mouth-wateringly expensive patent litigation.…
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Tags: Featured Posts Genetics Health Regulation & Law OPC CRISPR patents Source Type: blogs