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:
International Conference to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Biotechnology Directive
On 14th and 15th September 2023, an international conference organised by Professor Naomi Hawkins...
First PatentsInHumans Infographic
We are delighted to launch the first infographic of the PatentsInHumans project. We hope that this...
Dr Karen Walsh and Prof Aisling McMahon’s research cited in World Intellectual Property Organisation Study of Intellectual Property and Access to Health
Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology’s Dr Karen Walsh and Professor Aisling McMahon’s...
Dr Opeyemi Kolawole publishes an Ideas in ALL Blog: A Right to Repair for Medical Devices
On 30th June 2023, an Ideas in ALL Blog Article written by Dr Opeyemi Kolawole (Post-doctoral...
Prof Aisling McMahon delivers an invited lecture at World Intellectual Property Organization Summer School on Intellectual Property Law
On 30th June 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon delivered an invited lecture at the World...
Prof Aisling McMahon invited to present PatentsInHumans research at interdisciplinary international conference on the Legacies of Asilomar
On 15th June 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon delivered an invited presentation based on research...
Overview of PatentsInHumans Launch Event – An Ideas in ALL Blog
In June 2023, the PatentsInHumans Team were delighted to be invited to prepare a piece for the...
Reflecting on Prof Aisling McMahon’s invitation to discuss intellectual property licensing at US National Academies of Sciences ESTI Committee Event
On 19th October 2022, Professor Aisling McMahon was invited to speak to the United States National...
Dr Opeyemi Kolawole presents a paper on Technology Transfer and Least Developed Countries at Intellectual Property Law Conference at Sheffield University
On 9th June 2023, Dr Opeyemi Kolawole, a post-doctoral researcher on the PatentsInHumans project,...
Prof Aisling McMahon and Dr Opeyemi Kolawole present paper on Patents and Medical Devices at Intellectual Property Law Conference in Sheffield University
On 8th June 2023, Prof Aisling McMahon and Dr Opeyemi Kolawole, presented a paper titled “Patents...