Report On Patenting Of Microbes

The Patenting Facilitating Center (PFC) under the Department of Science and Technology has prepared a report on Patenting of Micro-organisms. Issues related to the origins of micro-organisms and its patentability and ownership have been debated since the US Supreme Court allowed patenting of micro-organisms in 1980.

A first of its kind in any developing country, the Rs 500 report analyses patent laws of developed and developing countries in relation to micro-organisms, patents granted for microbiological processes and micro-organisms per se.

In fact, the report carries responses from many countries in regard to interpretation of the term `micro-organism'. Case studies of patents issued by the US PTO and European Patent Office (EPO) have also been listed in detail in the report.