Premium
International patent agreements for protecting biotechnology products and processes worldwide
Author(s) -
Lesser William
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
agribusiness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1520-6297
pISSN - 0742-4477
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6297(198724)3:4<351::aid-agr2720030402>3.0.co;2-#
Subject(s) - international trade , business , microbiology and biotechnology , industrial organization , biochemical engineering , biology , engineering
International efforts since 1883 to harmonize patent protection are described and evaluated. Substantial progress has been made in streamlining application processes and in standardizing the scope of protection. Significant gaps remain in (1) the opportunity to publicize an invention before filing for a patent, (2) access to and use of deposited samples, and (3) the widespread treatment of plants and animals as a distinct group of products limited to an inferior form of protection. Widespread efforts are underway to resolve these perceived weaknesses, probably along the lines of US law. Remaining is the problem of incorporating a large number of tropical nations which presently have no effective patent system into this evolving, coordinated international industrial property protection system. Most threatened is the widespread dissemination of self‐reproducible biotechnological inventions delivered in the form of plants, seeds and animals.