i_Biology
Patent Engine: (i-BPE)
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Why do we need an i-Biology Patent Engine (i-BPE)?
Against the backdrop of the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US, the anthrax crisis has raised highly controversial issues related to intellectual property rights. By waiving the Bayer patent, the US would be able to approach other companies to manufacture greater and cheaper supplies of ciprofloxacin, as the drug is known generically. This would ease concerns that Bayer might not be able to produce enough ciprofloxacin to counter widespread anthrax attacks. However, any move to override the Bayer patent would represent a serious policy U-turn for the Bush administration, which the administration is unwilling to do. For them profit is more important then public health. Just last year, the world witnessed heated debate on the patent controversy when the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of South Africa (a WTO member) took the South African government to court to prevent it from importing cheaper versions of patented AIDS drugs. Under tremendous pressure from health activists around the world, the drug companies and WTO unconditionally dropped their lawsuit against the South African government. How will the i-Biology Patent Engine function (i-BPE)? The i-Biology Patent Engine (i-BPE) will allow on-line communities to revise and archive new patents. (i-BPE) software opens the source of current trans-corporate patents, by offering users the means to assemble their own inventions by recycling existing ones. The real patents and the i-BPE patents will be placed in a data repository and offered to the end users for further remixing. The i-Biology Patent Engine (i-BPE) can then be downloaded as a file. The file will be designed to mimic existing patent forms. A few choice biotech patents targeted for remixing: |
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Soybean Variety 92B6 - U. S. Patent 6,346,657 | ||
Method to obtain male sterile plants - U. S. Patent 6,344,602 | ||
Method to obtain female sterile plants - U. S. Patent 6,297,426 B1 | ||