[Patents] Re: bio and info

[Paul Preziosi preziosi@cnam.fr]

> > The problem with software patents and bio patents is quite different
> >       1- bio patents are good for small companies and bio multinationals 
> > but harmful for 3rd
> > world countries and eventually for the society
> >       2- software patents are harmful for small companies, do not matter 
> > much for
> > multinationals and are certainly harmuful for the society
> 
> Some more points of comparison:
> 
> The bio patents problem is mostly an "ordre public" problem.  The
> antipatenters never touch basic problems of the patent system but only of
> unrelated issues such as the morality of patenting human genes.

 Patenting human genes is not only a moral problem. They are very
 similar to software patents in the way they can hinder scientific
 and medical progress.

 The problem arises from the fact you can patent a gene on it's sole
 description, without the slightest idea of whatever application it
 could have. Furthermore, patents have been granted on simple results
 of statistical analyses suggesting a gene should exist without
 actual proof that it does.

 Thus some companies activity consits only on active gene research and
 patenting (and, of course, dealing stocks) in the hope to be able,
 in a uncertain future, to sell their rights at the high price.

 Needless to say how this will encourage productive therapeutic
 research based on these genes, especially by small companies ;-).

 Fortunately, the way biological research goes, it is likely that
 many of these patents will expire before practical applications
 are actually found for them :-)).

-- 
Paul Preziosi