Bridging the gap between bioethics and patent law
PatentsinHumans is a five-year interdisciplinary project funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Starting grant led by Professor Aisling McMahon, School of Law and Criminology, Maynooth University.
The five main types of patentable technologies related to the human body which will be examined during this project include:
Patentable technologies which treat the body
e.g. medicines, elements of vaccines etc
Patentable technologies which act on the body
e.g. elements of diagnostic tests
Patentable technologies that are in the body
e.g. isolated human genes
Patentable technologies that can be integrated with the body
e.g. elements of medical devices, prosthetics etc.
Patentable technologies that are akin to the human body or which can modify the body
e.g. neuro-technologies, gene editing techniques etc.
To learn more about the PatentsInHumans Project, please watch this short video from Principal Investigator, Professor Aisling McMahon.
Latest News:
Professor McMahon invited to speak on panel at Royal Irish Academy’s Life and Health Sciences Committee event on the ‘Future Forum of Bioethics in Ireland’
The Royal Irish Academy’s Life and Health Sciences committee chaired by Dr Oliver Feeney recently...
Professor McMahon publishes piece on patents and stem cell-based embryo models on Durham CELLS Blog recently cited in Nuffield Council on Bioethics Report
Professor Aisling McMahon recently published an article on Durham CELLS blog entitled “Patents...
Professor McMahon speaks at Cell 2024 Conference in London
On 6-8 November 2024, Professor Aisling McMahon, School and Law of Criminology, attended and spoke...
Professor Aisling McMahon invited to join International Advisory Board of Legal Studies
Professor Aisling McMahon has been invited to join the international advisory board of Legal...
PatentsInHumans Team publish Report of First International PatentsInHumans Workshop
The PatentsInHumans team are delighted to publish the Report of the First International...
Prof Aisling McMahon and Dr Opeyemi Kolawole deliver paper on right to repair and medical devices at international EPIP conference, Pisa
On 11th September, Prof Aisling McMahon (PI PatentsInHumans) and Dr Opeyemi Kolawole presented a...
PatentsInHuman Project is Recruiting!
The PatentsInHumans team is delighted to announce that it is currently recruiting two new...
Prof Aisling McMahon delivers an invited lecture at the World Intellectual Property Organization Summer School
On 10th July, Prof Aisling McMahon delivered an invited lecture at the World Intellectual Property...
Prof Aisling McMahon speaks at the ‘International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property’ (ATRIP) Conference, LUISS University, Rome.
On 1st July 2024, Prof Aisling McMahon (PI PatentsInHumans) presented a paper  developed as part...
Prof Aisling McMahon discusses research on patents and governance of health at ISHTIP Conference, Boston University.
On 26th June 2024, Professor Aisling McMahon (PI PatentsInHumans) discussed her emerging work...