Intellectual Property Protection and Agricultural Biotechnology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Intellectual property (IP) protection makes it possible to exclude others from appropriating the fruits of research and development. At the intersection of biotechnology and intellectual property are several public policy issues concerning innovation, technology, and society (such as social welfare, human health, ecology, and tradition), which must be considered from a multidisciplinary perspective. This article discusses the structure of the ag-biotechnology industry, the role of IP in achieving coordination and sharing of both the benefits and risks of innovation, IP regimes in the United States and abroad, and the economic and philosophical rationales for IP. The key principles and doctrines are then applied to specific IP controversies in biotechnology.