Swiss Biotech Report 2006

...POSITIVE FOR BUSINESS AND RESEARCH17This applies to all living things in general: The subjectof a patent is not the living organism in its natural environmentbut a technical teaching as to how humanbeings can utilise nature in a new way for commercialpurposes. The technical beneficial effect makes thediscovery an invention under patent law. On the otherhand, isolated and perhaps technologically modifiedcomponents of the human body outside their naturalenvironment (such as isolated and possibly geneticallymodified blood cells) are patentable.c) Which ethical values are considered in patenting?Except for inventions whose exploitation wouldviolate public order or morality, patent law takes intoaccount generally binding moral and ethical valueswhen issuing patents. However, only violations of fundamentaland therefore permanent values justifydenial of a patent since there are often as many as 10years or more between the time the patent applicationis filed and the date the invention is first exploitedor used. Value systems and standards can changeduring that time. It would therefore be unfortunate orregrettable if a patent were denied for an inventionwhose exploitation becomes unproblematic duringthe potential protection period of 20 years due to achange in social or political values and standards.These fundamental values are not only mentioned inthe general clause quoted above but are also illustratedby explicit exclusion criteria in the new patentlaw. Examples are the cloning of human organisms,chimeras with human germ cells, modification ofhuman germ line cells or unmodified human embryonicstem cells. These exclusion criteria also correspondto Directive 98/44/EC.Professor Heinz Müller isan expert in patents andtechnology at the SwissFederal Institute of IntellectualProperty and alecturer in Medical Biochemistryat the Universityof Basel.THE SWISS FEDERAL INSTITUTEOF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY...…is the federal competence centre for all mattersdealing with patents, trademarks, designs andcopyrights. The broad range of services offered bythe institute can be divided into three areas: propertyrights, information products and training. Theissuance and administration of property rights isthe institute’s core business. Information productssuch as research into technological developments(novelty searches) and trademark searches are importantmarket-oriented services for our clients. Inaddition to these services, we offer training coursesin all areas of intellectual property rights.@For further information please visitwww.ige.ch