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Patents may not establish clear property and use rights and this may promote biodiversity destruction and decline. What is needed are schemes for patents to suit conservation and sustainable-use objectives.
A patent landscape analysis of 22 common genetic diagnostic tests shows substantially fewer claims on genes per se than initially suggested but raises questions of legal uncertainty as to the claims' scope.
Two recent events—the issuance of the world's first patent for induced pluripotent stem cells and, under a pilot system, the issuance of the fastest patent ever granted—signal a watershed in Japanese academia's transition from gown to town.
Examining the relationships between invention disclosure type in industry and academia and geographical disclosure trends, using plant-made pharmaceuticals as a single-sector model for the biopharmaceutical industry.