Australasian Biotechnology, Volume 9 Number 5, November/December 1999,
pp. 272-275
ISSUES and INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Code Number:AU99016
ISSUES
Biotechnology in India
Looking at the recent developments in India from a
Centre for Plant Biotechnology Research that I head in an American
campus (and there are many like me in biotechnology in US academia
and the biotech industry), I am struck by how a small group of
Indian activists (with strong Western connections) opposed to
biotechnology have been making headlines virtually unopposed. They
are on the warpath against genetically improved crops. And through
well-orchestrated campaigns are sowing the seeds of fear in the
minds of the Indian public.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Patent Filing Dilemma- What information can I add later?
This article considers particular problems in seeking
patent protection for biotechnology inventions, in relation to
which there is often a long lead time between the conception of the
principle, and the demonstration of the utility of the invention.
In these cases, the legal requirement that a patent specification
sufficiently describe and demonstrate the utility of the invention
means that the inventor must carefully consider when to file an
application. This article discusses the circumstances in which
further information can be added to a specification after filing,
in Australia, the US, and Europe, and the risks associated with
adding such information.
Copyright 1999 Australian Biotechnology Association Ltd.
