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Mission and Guidelines
Issues and Strategic Rationale:
- The morality and economics of biotech patents are being actively debated. Both moral and economic arguments are essentially ideological on examination with no data to support claims of economic damages stemming from biotech patents.
- These debates are frequently misinformed, and there is an obvious need to educate all stakeholders and thought leaders.
- These debates have led to efforts in the United States and abroad to amend patent laws with respect to biotech patents. Additionally, licensing practices are actively discussed in various international fora.
Mission
To promote the public welfare through the support of innovation fostered by biotechnology intellectual property.
Responsibilities:
- The Biotechnology Patenting Working Group is responsible for addressing anti-gene patenting legislation, regulation and rhetoric.
- The working group may commission studies, develop policy papers to be reviewed by the full IP Counsels' Committee and the Bioethics Committee, and may from time to time organize biotechnology patenting educational programs in various venues.
- The working group will monitor work product from various organizations and international entities involved in biotechnology patenting issues, e.g., the Organization for Economic Cooperative Development, U.S. governmental agencies (the NIH, the PTO).
- The working group will work with BIO staff to brief members of Congress and officials of governmental agencies such as the PTO, the U.S. State Department, the Federal Trade Commission and the NIH on biotechnology patenting issues.
- The working group may make recommendations to the full committee on legislation, treaties, jurisprudence and practice related to biotechnology patenting.
- Working group members may be asked to formulate comments and testimony on various biotechnology patent-related regulations, publications, etc.
Policy Approval Process:
Substantive matters designed to become the official position of BIO are sent as recommendations of the Gene Patenting Working Group to the IPC committee for review. Upon approval of the full IPC committee, the recommendations are sent to the Board of Directors Standing Committee on Intellectual Property for first review. The Standing Committee on Intellectual property will discuss and, as appropriate, determine changes in the recommendations. The standing committee will then either return the substantive matter to the IPC and then the working group for further comment and revision or refer the matter to the full Board of Directors for consideration. BIO's Government Relations Committee will be kept abreast of current activities.
Eligibility for Participation:
Must be a member of BIO and meet the requirements of the membership in the full IPC committee.
Past Accomplishments:
The Biotechnology Patenting Working Group, formerly known as the Gene Patenting Working Group, helped to organize briefings of congressional members and staff on patent-related issues. Based on the recommendations and suggestions of the working group BIO was able to successfully commission a study on gene patenting to be completed in 2004. The working group has participated in developing patent related panels at various international events. The working group successfully hosted a Gene Patenting Forum for BIO members. The working group has met with various government officials, including the Department of Commerce, the National Institutes of Health and the General Accounting Office, to articulate BIO's views on DNA-based patents and has served as a source of information for the public officials.
Obligations: The working group meets twice a year to examine issues, focus and strategy. Tactical meetings will be held on an ad hoc basis throughout the year.
Contact Information: Lila Feisee, director, intellectual property, lfeisee@bio.org;
Louise Rogers, Coordinator for Legal Affairs, lrogers@bio.org. Address:
1201 Maryland Avenue, SW,
Suite 900,
Washington, DC 20024-2149,
(202) 962-9200
fax: 202-488-6301 website: www.bio.org.
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