Biotechnological Inventions and Patent Law: National and International Perspective

ABSTRACT In the knowledge society of 21st century, intellectual property rights (IPRs) are real assets and much more valuable and important than are materialistic assets like house, motor car, and so on. Patents are given for inventions which fulfill few important conditions, such as novelty, inventiveness, industrial application, and written description. Significantly, biotechnological invention involves monopoly over life or living beings or living processes, and morally and ethically these are considered to involve tinkering with life or nature. However, today, biotechnological inventions are patentable because of their benefits and utility to the industry. This article is a humble attempt to examine international and national law and judicial decisions relating to patents and biotechnological inventions from a theoretical perspective. How to cite this article Rattan J. Biotechnological Inventions and Patent Law: National and International Perspective. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2016;50(3):132-135.

Patents for plants and genes under the European Patent Convention

SynopsisThe cost of patenting an invention should be incurred only where the patent is likely to give the inventor an economic or a tactical advantage. Where it is practicable, secrecy may be preferable to patenting. If an advantage from patenting can be envisaged, then in Western Europe the inventor can apply either for a European patent under the European Patent Convention or for a national patent. The inventor in plant biotechnology faces a ban on patenting certain inventions, including plant varieties and essentially biological processes for the production of plants. But since this ban is interpreted strictly, there are opportunities for patenting what at first glance might seem not patentable. A patent application must give a written description of the invention that is complete enough for a skilled person to reproduce it. The inventor may be required to supplement the description in a patent specification for a biotechnological invention, by depositing a sample of relevant biological materials. A European patent is treated as a national patent in the country for which it was granted. Since a patent may be invalidated in enforcement proceedings, patenting may turn out to have been a costly mistake.