Patenting of Human Genes and Living Organisms

Download or read book Patenting of Human Genes and Living Organisms written by Friedrich Vogel and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biotechnology is one of the most promising fields of technology, especially since molecular biology methods have enhanced our knowledge of genes, their structure, and their action. This knowledge makes it possible to change genetic material and construct new varieties of cultural plants and animals for various purposes such as nutrition, scientific and medical experimentation, and treatment of human diseases. Such inventions may even include human genes. The understandable desire to have legal protection in this domain has created new problems - especially from the viewpoint of the law and acquiring patents for these new inventions. These problems are under wide discussion and are often controversial. This volume provides a unique overview of the current problems and opinions in this controversial field.