Nanotechnology Law

Existing laws have a generality that permits them to be applied to nanotechnology, but eventually it will be necessary to generate legislation targeted to issues specific to nanotechnology. As nanotechnology continues to develop into commercially viable products, legal doctrines are increasingly likely to play an important role in protecting intellectual property, facilitating financial transactions, and handling health, safety, and environmental issues. Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects provides thorough, yet comprehensible overview of different legal doctrines that are relevant to nanotechnology and explains how they may apply in the development, commercialization, and use of nano-products. The book is divided into three parts that correspond to the different phases in the lifecycle of nano-products: Protection, Regulation, and Liability. The in-depth coverage of these topics in a single source sets this work apart from others at the interface of law and nanoscience. Accessible to those without specific training in either nanotechnology or law... Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects offers a reader-friendly and affordable alternative that appeals to nano-aware audiences as well as legal professionals, students, and scientists who wish to build a greater understanding of the legal aspects of nanotechnology.

Ever since the discovery that very small particles of some substances evince different properties than the substances do in ‘bulk’ form, there has been an interest in developing ‘nanomaterials’ for commercial and industrial purposes. Although some nanomaterials exist in nature, most are chemically engineered for application in a wide variety of processes, ultimately entering the environment in many foods, drugs, cosmetics, clothing, sports goods, pesticides, packaging products and electronics, as well as in the particularly controversial form of tiny ‘machines’. Since the long-term effects of these new, laboratory-created materials and tools on health and the environment are unknown ; and as the particles are so small they can frustrate measuring and monitoring devices ; there has been a growing call for regulation of their use. This is the first book to offer a thorough analysis of the problems posed by nanotechnology in the context of existing legal schemes and trends, focusing on initiatives and debates in the European Union but also considering developments at the global level and in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and China. Setting out how the current debate has arisen, how existing law deals with the issues arising around nanotechnology in areas such as patent rights and manufacturers’ liability, and how various international organizations are searching for some global consensus, the book addresses topics and issues including the following: patentability of nanomaterial products and processes; trade secrecy and nanotechnology; waste and disposal issues; occupational health and safety issues; international initiatives – OECD, FAO, WHO, UNEP and the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM); intersection of nanotechnology with the most important fields of economic development; the extent to which exclusive rights have been registered over early developments in nanotechnology; the practical viability of pre-market toxicity investigation and postmarketing vigilance; contractual and tortious approaches to real or potential liability for harm; application of the precautionary principle in law and regulation; and political responses to existing legislation. Nanomaterials are already a commercial reality; the regulatory debate centres on the question of how to maximize the benefits they may offer while also limiting the risk from unforeseen hazards. This book clearly and comprehensively describes the range of issues relating to the legal framework and practicalities for commercial exploitation of nanotechnologies, and as such will prove of great value and importance to corporate counsel in many manufacturing sectors as well as to regulators and policy makers in environmental and trade law. Lorna is a partner in the London office of Bird & Bird LLP.

Nanotechnology Law and Policy includes an examination of the scope of nanotechnology as a science and as a commercialized application of science, and the legal, regulatory and policy aspects of this emerging technology. There are still only a few cases about nanotechnology, but laws and ordinances specifically addressing nanotechnology continue to develop. At the federal level, federal agencies have developed policy statements on how they expect to approach the regulation of nanotechnology in their jurisdictional areas, and some agencies such as EPA and FDA are well into the aspect of regulation of nanotechnology applying existing statutory and regulatory frameworks. This comprehensive book will be accompanied by an instructor's guide with teaching materials.

Small things add up: trillions of dollars of products applying nanotechnology have been marketed to consumers promising new medicines, strong packaging to protect goods from contamination, stronger eyelash mascara and long-lasting lipstick, construction materials for housing, cheaper energy, and new drugs to fight cancer. Nanotechnology applications to consumer products represent a huge slice of daily economic life, heralding a revolutionary age for science and technology. How can the benefits of nanotechnology be realized while protecting public health? Global Health Impacts of Nanotechnology Law: A Tool for Stakeholder Engagement fills a major void in legal, scientific policy discourse about nanotechnology for people who are curious about nanoscience, bioethics, and law. The pioneering, plain-language text of Dr. Ilise L. Feitshans, international health law scholar and former international civil servant, enables readers to move comfortably across disciplines and explore how nanotechnology can reshape both commerce and public health to improve daily life worldwide.

Nanotechnology - technology at the molecular level - is held out by many as the Holy Grail for creating a trillion dollar economy and solving problems from curing cancer to reprocessing waste into products and building superfast computers. Yet, as with GMOs, many view nanotech as a high risk genie in a bottle that once uncorked has the potential to cause unpredictable, perhaps irreversible, environmental and public health disasters. With the race to bring products to market, there is pressing need to take stock of the situation and to have a full public debate about this new technological frontier. Including contributions by renowned figures such as Roland Clift, K. Eric Drexler and Arpad Pusztai, this is the first global overview of the state of nanotech and society in Europe, the USA, Japan and Canada, examining the ethics, the environmental and public health risks, and the governance and regulation of this most promising, and potentially most dangerous, of all technologies.

The rapid commercialization of nanotechnology is one of the most intriguing industrial phenomena of our time. But as the universe of applied nanotechnology is burgeoning, so are questions raised about the possible impact of exposure to nanoscale materials on human health and the environment. This book offers the most current and authoritative look at the regulatory, governance, and business issues of a technology that is as fascinating as it is challenging.

In the first attempt to fully explore the controversial issues associated with the commercial application of nanotechnology, you'll find a thorough analysis of intellectual property and patents, financing and legal concerns, regulatory measures particularly in the field of nanomedicine, and environmental regulations. The authors include a set of guideposts you can follow in your due diligence of the business and legal issues pertaining to the technology.