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:
Report on the PatentsInHumans Public Launch Event now published
On 20th April 2023, we were delighted to host the public launch event for the European Research...
Professor Aisling McMahon invited to present research at ‘Public Health, Trade and the Role of Law’ Workshop at the University of Edinburgh
On 25th May 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon was invited to speak about her research on the role of...
Professor Aisling McMahon invited to discuss her research on patents and health at the AHRC ‘Transforming Public Health’ workshop at the University of Edinburgh
On 5th May 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon gave an invited presentation on her research on the...
EU Commission’s recent Compulsory Licensing Proposals for Crisis Situations – Journal of Medical Ethics Blog by Professor Aisling McMahon
On 4th May 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon published a short article in the Journal of Medical...
PatentsInHumans paper presented at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Conference in Ulster University
On 5th April 2023, Prof Aisling McMahon & Dr Opeyemi Kolawole presented research from the...
Prof. Aisling McMahon presents PatentsInHumans research at Law and Futures Seminar, Newcastle University
On 31st March 2023, Professor Aisling McMahon was invited to present research from the European...
PatentsInHumans Project Launch Event
 Patents in Humans Launch Event When: 20th April 2023Where: Maynooth University CampusAbstract:...
Prof. Aisling McMahon speaks about patents and public health vaccines access at public policy conference organised by the Economics Department, Maynooth University
On 29th March 2023, Prof Aisling McMahon was invited to speak at an interdisciplinary conference...
PatentsInHumans ERC Project commences
PatentsInHumans explores the bioethical implications of patents on technologies related to the...
PatentsInHumans Logo Design and Origins
In February 2023, the PatentsInHumans logo was created by Wonder Works Studio Ltd. in consultation...