Abstract

The genetics community is increasingly concerned that patents might lead to restricted access to research and health care. We explore various measures that are designed to render patented genetic inventions accessible to further use in research, and to diagnosis and/or treatment. They include the often-recited research or experimental-use exemption, conventional one-to-one licensing and compulsory licensing, as well as patent pools and clearing-house mechanisms. The last two alternatives deserve special attention in the area of human genetics.

Author affiliations

1. Geertrui Van Overwalle and Esther van Zimmeren are at the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Leuven, Belgium.
2. Gert Matthijs is at the Centre for Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leuven.
3. Birgit Verbeure is at both the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights and the Centre for Human Genetics.

Correspondence to: Geertrui Van Overwalle¹ Email: geertrui.vanoverwalle@law.kuleuven.be

Correspondence to: Gert Matthijs² Email: gert.matthijs@med.kuleuven.be

Published online 29 December 2005

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