Patent Politics

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, vaccines have allowed some freedom from the virus. But, patents on the vaccines are preventing others around the world from receiving the life saving shot. In turn, the White House has received pressure to waive...

Intellectual property, and patents, in particular, affect every level of society. Research interest in the area has expanded beyond just the legal community and now involves social scientists and humanists as well. In an article published on...

When it comes to the patent system, the U.S. and Europe are having very different conversations. As Professor Shobita Parthasarathy explains in her new book, Patent Politics, patents for biotechnology such as gene editing are approached from a...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy’s book, Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe, has been awarded the prestigious Robert K. Merton Book Award. The award, given by the Science, Knowledge, and...

In a July 19 piece for The Conversation, Shobita Parthasarathy encourages research universities and nonprofits to establish “intellectual property governance committees.” These committees--comprised of patent lawyers; ethicists; citizens; and...

It seems like a straightforward question. If we produce more innovation, and quickly, then society will benefit. Our economy will grow because there will be markets for new technologies, and citizens will also benefit from access to the technologies...