The PatentsInHumans team are delighted to publish our first annual report today. In this report, we provide an overview of the focus of our research activities and the key achievements/activities in the first year of the PatentsInHumans research project. We also briefly outline some of the key research and other activities we intend to pursue over the coming year.
In year one, as highlighted in the report the team focused on developing research mapping the potential bioethical issues that could be posed by the grant and use of patents over a range of technologies related to the human body, including medicines, medical devices, elements of diagnostics etc. We also examined the institutional and legal systems within which such patent grant and licensing decisions are taken and relevant legislative provisions and legal avenues which could be used to engage with (bio)ethical issues that can arise.
The report also provides a brief general overview of the project, an introduction to our team, details of our PatentsInHumans launch event, dissemination activities, a list of publications, team news and an outline of future activities. The report is available to download here.