Werkplaats Biopolitiek

19 Apr '10 - 352 W The Governance of the European Patent System

During the last two decades, patents have increasingly drawn critical attention from civil society organizations and other third parties. Especially controversial were patents on genes, cells and transgenic organisms and on software programs. The ensuing controversies have raised questions about the democratic legitimacy of the European patent system.

At one time patent law was a specialized field that was of interest only to patent attorneys and other technical experts. Sheltered from outside scrutiny, the European Patent Office (EPO) used its discretionary powers to serve its clientele, the applicants, and to gradually and tacitly extend the limits of the domain of what could be patented. The mandate of the EPO is not just to ‘rubberstamp’ the incoming patent applications, but to thoroughly examine them on their inventive merits in the name of the public interest. What needs to be recognized is that the work of the EPO involves much more than a simple execution of existing laws and regulations but must be considered a tacit policy-making process which requires public accountability. In fact, patent law must be reframed as regulatory law and practice for the governance of technology and innovation. In this lecture policy changes as introduced by the European Parliament and other venues will be discussed to make the EPO more responsive to the interests of societal stakeholders and to enhance the accountability, transparency and democratic control of the European patent system.

Biographical information
PD Dr. Ingrid Schneider is university lecturer at the Institute of Political Science and senior researcher at the Research Centre on Biotechnology, Society, and the Environment (BIOGUM) at the University of Hamburg, Germany. She has written extensively on technology assessment, biopolitics, legal regulation and intellectual property rights and has acted as advisor for the German, Austrian and European Parliaments. She is also an ad personam appointed member of the Standing Advisory Committee (SACEPO) to the European Patent Office. 

Contact person: Dr. Henk van den Belt (henk.vandenbelt@verwijder-dit.wur.nl)