Biobank-Related Research and Intellectual Property Rights: Deconstructing the Obscurity
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Forthcoming
Posted: 1 Mar 2017
Date Written: February 27, 2017
Abstract
This article concerns the legal and practical challenges related to biobank research in the area of Big Genomic Data and its implications for medical research in Europe in the light of the New Recommendation CM/Rec (2016)6 on research on biological materials of human origin and the Declaration of Taipei on Ethical Considerations regarding Health Databases and Biobanks, 2016.
On the one hand there is the need to exploit the vast amount of resources collected thanks to huge capital investments to meet the demands of health care. This calls for better research partnerships. Health researchers involved in such research use IP rights to protect their research. On the other hand, biobanking involves ethical considerations which govern the management and use of relevant resources. Balancing these two often is a challenge.
This article examines the issues related to research partnerships within publicly funded biobanks and focuses on the legal implications of Big Genomic Data research and IP rights within publicly funded biobanks.It examines two central issues in relation to biobanks: ownership and informed consent of participants under the lens of IP law. While IP law policies tend to focus on the promotion of innovation, the contextual discussion on biobanks also calls for the consideration of ethical aspects.
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