Patents Human Rights And Access To Science

The new millennium has been described as ‘the century of biology’, but scientific progress and access to medicines has been marred by global disputes over ownership of the science by universities and private companies. This book examines the challenges posed by the modern patent system to the right of everyone to access the benefits of science in international law. Aurora Plomer retraces the genesis and evolution of the key Articles in the UN system (Article 27 UDHR and Article 15 ICESCR). She combines the historiography of these Articles with a novel perspective on the moral foundations of rights of access to science to draw out implications for today’s controversies on patents in the life-sciences. The analysis suggests that access to science as a fundamental right requires both freedom from political and religious interference and the existence of enabling research institutions and educational facilities which promote the flow of knowledge through transparent and open structures. From this perspective, the global patent system is shown to fail spectacularly when it comes to the human rights ideal of universal access to science. The book concludes that a fundamental restructuring of patent institutions is required, in which democratic oversight of patent policies would ensure meaningful realization of the right of everyone to access the benefits of science. Students and scholars of international law, particularly those focusing on intellectual property and human rights, will find this book to be of considerable interest. It will also be of use to practitioners in the field.

This study primarily explores whether conflicts between patents and human rights in the context of access to medicines are inevitable, or whether patents can be made to serve human rights. The author argues that it is necessary to have a deepened understanding of each of the two sets of norms that govern this issue, that is, patent law and international human rights law. The chapters investigate the relevant dimensions of patent law and analyse particular human rights bearing upon the issue of intellectual property and access to medicines.

An exploration of the tension between human rights and patent law, with reference to developing countries' access to affordable medicines.

This book examines the relationship between intellectual property in pharmaceuticals and access to medicines from a human rights perspective, with a view to contributing to the development of a human rights framework that can guide States in enacting and implementing intellectual property law and policy. The study primarily explores whether conflicts between patents and human rights in the context of access to medicines are inevitable, or whether patents can be made to serve human rights. What could be a normative framework that human rights might provide for patents and innovation? Joo-Young Lee argues that it is necessary to have a deepened understanding of each of the two sets of norms that govern this issue, that is, patent law and international human rights law. The chapters investigate the relevant dimensions of patent law, and analyse particular human rights bearing upon the issue of intellectual property and access to medicines. This study will be of great interest to academic specialists, practitioners or professionals in the fields of human rights, trade, and intellectual property, as well as policy makers, activists, and health professionals across the world working in intellectual property and human rights.

As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.

The volume is devoted to the relevant problems in the legal sphere, created and generated by recent advances in science and technology. In particular, it investigates a series of cutting-edge contemporary and controversial case-studies where scientific and technological issues intersect with individual legal rights. The book addresses challenging topics at the intersection of communication technologies and biotech innovations such as freedom of expression, right to health, knowledge production, Internet content regulation, accessibility and freedom of scientific research.

We are publishing this book as the result of a research project carried out by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain and AFM Krakow University in Poland. Some parts of it were already announced during a scientific Conference organised remotely in Kraków in October 2020. It is now time to present the research findings in writing.The issue of Artificial Intelligence has long raised questions and interests, including those of legal science. A number of problems have not yet been widely analysed, despite the fact that the present time is undoubtedly a time of technological challenges. Therefore, in the presented publication, prepared by the international scientific community, under our scientific guidance, the authors try to analyse the areas which, in their opinion and in our opinion, required such analysis. The leitmotif of our scientific work was human rights and their relationship with Artificial Intelligence. In presenting the research results in this book, we realise that a number of issues still need to be clarified. Nevertheless, we hope that the work presented for the reader’s consideration will constitute an interesting voice in the discussion, a point of reference for all those dealing with the legal issues of new technologies and the protection of human rights.As the presented book is a collective work, the authors essentially present their own views. The whole work has been designed to address a broad spectrum of issues in Artificial Intelligence and human rights in a single collection. We are convinced that such a broad view will allow everyone interested in the discussed issues to see the essence of contemporary problems faced by the science of law in a multinational perspective.We encourage everyone to read the book!Laura Miraut MartínMariusz Zalucki

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