Intellectual Property Protection to Bioinformatics and Genomic Databases and Open Source Analogy to Biotechnology

Abstract

The recent advances in the field of biotechnology, particularly the development of human genomics and the success of Human Genome Project, make a gene more important because of its informational content rather than its material qualities (physical attributes). The vast amount of genetic and genomic information unleashed by biotechnological advances necessitated devising methods to manage, arrange and catalogue it in a manner that may facilitate its use. This has led to the emergence of a fairly new discipline, bioinformatics, and development of genetic and genomic databases. Intellectual property protection varies according to the technology used in the bioinformatics field such as biological databases, algorithms, complex software etc. While some of these technologies may fit into the existing framework of intellectual property law, others fall outside the scope of current legal protections e.g. databases per se, as collections or arrangements of raw data are generally not patentable. Bioinformatics and genomic databases as new fields need a continuously open and collaborative process for data collection and analysis. In such a situation, strict proprietary protection to genetic and genomic databases may restrict public access to genetic and genomic information. These important aspects of bioinformatics are in direct conflict with the proprietary protection given to it. The most viable option to meet this situation is seen in the open source biotechnology, inspired by the success of open source movement in the field of information technology.