Mumbo Jumbo: The Patentability of Biological Materials In Australia

From Vaughn Barlow of Pizzeys Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys.

1. Introduction

The Patent Amendment (Human Genes and Biological Materials) Bill (2010) is currently being debated before the Australian parliament. The Bill seeks to ban the patenting of all biological material that is “identical or substantially identical to such materials as they exist in nature”. If passed, this legislation would represent a major shift in Australian patent law. It may also significantly jeopardize the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical and agricultural industries in Australia.  This article therefore examines the current patentability of biological materials in Australia, charts the evolution of public debate surrounding this issue, sets out the proposed ban on patentable subject matter, and briefly discusses the ramifications of such a ban.

You can download the entire article here.

Patentability of biological materials in AU FINAL VPB

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