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There is a veritable gold rush mentality in the life science world as scientists, entrepreneurs and multinationals are staking claims to the 'code of life' embodied in the world's current stock of plants, animals, microbes and human populations.
This edited volume explores the legal, economic and political context for the debate about intellectual property rights for traditional knowledge and genetic resources and critically analyses the theory and practice of access and benefits sharing efforts around the world. The book also investigates the current flashpoints - the David and Goliath battle between Monsanto and Percy Schmeiser over farmers' rights; the dispute over coexistence of GM and organic production; and the ownership and control of human genetic materials stored in human gene banks around the world.
Contributors. Acknowledgements.- Part One: Access And Benefits Sharing In Context. Introduction to Access to Benefit Sharing.- Part Two: Sharing The Benefits Of Inventions, PGR's And Traditional Knowledge.The Ideology of the Commons and Property Rights. Farmers' Privilege and Patented Seeds. Traditional Knowledge and Benefit Sharing: From Compensation to Transaction. Biological Resources and Intellectual Property Rights: Impacts on Indigenous and Local Communities. Lost in Transition? The Rhetoric of International Law, Protection of Indigenous Peoples' Knowledge and the Omnipresent Reality of Biopiracy.- Part Three: Implementing Access And Benefits Sharing. The Coexistence of GM and Organic Cropping: Hoffman and Beaudoin v. Monsanto Canada Inc. and Aventis Cropscience Canada Holding Inc. Beyond the Rhetoric: Population Genetics and Benefit Sharing. Bioprospecting Partnerships in Practice: A Decade of Experiences at INBio in Costa Rica.- Part Four: Access And Benefit Sharing In The New Millennium. Conclusions: New Paths to Access and Benefit Sharing.
From the reviews: "This edited book consists of ten chapters and is volume 11 in the series entitled The International Library of Environment, Agriculture and Food Ethics. ! It provides a useful overview of the evolution of intellectual property rights for plant technologies and products ! . This book ! provides varied views about access to and benefits from genetic technologies and materials. All who have an interest in biodiversity conservation, genetic innovations and the commercialization of genetic material ! are likely to find this book worthwhile reading." (Clem Tisdell, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Vol. 22, 2009)
