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ISBN: PB: 9780226759135

ISBN: HB: 9780226437859

University of Chicago Press

October 2020

304 pp.

22.8x15.2 cm

9 halftones

PB:
£16,00
QTY:
HB:
£19,00
QTY:

Categories:

Law

Patent Politics

Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe

Over the past thirty years, the world's patent systems have experienced pressure from civil society like never before. From farmers to patient advocates, new voices are arguing that patents impact public health, economic inequality, morality – and democracy. These challenges, to domains that we usually consider technical and legal, may seem surprising. But in "Patent Politics", Shobita Parthasarathy argues that patent systems have always been deeply political and social. To demonstrate this, Parthasarathy takes readers through a particularly fierce and prolonged set of controversies over patents on life forms linked to important advances in biology and agriculture and potentially life-saving medicines. Comparing battles over patents on animals, human embryonic stem cells, human genes, and plants in the United States and Europe, she shows how political culture, ideology, and history shape patent system politics. Clashes over whose voices and which values matter in the patent system, as well as what counts as knowledge and whose expertise is important, look quite different in these two places. And through these debates, the United States and Europe are developing very different approaches to patent and innovation governance. Not just the first comprehensive look at the controversies swirling around biotechnology patents, "Patent Politics" is also the first in-depth analysis of the political underpinnings and implications of modern patent systems, and provides a timely analysis of how we can reform these systems around the world to maximize the public interest.

About the Author

Shobita Parthasarathy is associate professor of public policy and women's studies at the University of Michigan and the author of "Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care".

Reviews

"Patent offices play a crucial role in the development of innovative global industries like biotech, pharmaceuticals, and IT. Parthasarathy's comparative analysis explores the puzzling and durable differences between the US and European patent systems. Meticulously researched and clearly written, this important book provides an insightful analysis that opens new questions about the limits of globalization and the continuing importance of political forces in shaping intellectual property" – Bruce G. Carruthers, Northwestern University

"'Patent Politics' is well crafted, with sharp comparison, strong analysis, and sound data. Parthasarathy offers a timely study that spans several fields: science and technology studies, science and technology policy, comparative politics, and political sociology. 'Patent Politics' will be widely read and cited by anyone with an interest in the past, present, or future of patents in the United States and Europe" – Daniel Kleinman, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"Parthasarathy's comparative approach to looking at the United States and Europe is intriguing and makes a significant contribution to the current state of the art – showing how differences in legal, cultural, and political traditions pertain to policies in respect to the life sciences. She not only provides a detailed account of the controversies surrounding life form patenting, but also vividly shows how the troubled legal regime of intellectual property results from negotiation with a whole set of actors, networks, and texts that are seen as external to the law. 'Patent Politics' is an important, timely, and impressive contribution to the field" – Eva Hemmungs Wirten, Linkoping University