Abstract
With the increased importance of patenting in emerging science and technology, publically funded research has also become increasingly influenced by commercial interests. In the wake of such developments central concerns within research ethics and patent ethics has gained new relevance. However, this has not materialized in research and patent policy debates in Norway. This paper provides an argument for the relevance of the rekindling of patent and research policy issues related to ethical and societal concerns for public research institutions in Norway. Further, due to an increasingly technocratic decision-making model of the patent system, important ethical and societal issues are left unanswered by current policy. This paper will focus on two aspects of current patent policy and practice. Firstly, the increased importance of commercial interests in research policy during the last 30 years has changed the incentives of public research. Secondly, patent law and the patent system has established a particular decision-making framework for how ethical and societal aspects of patents are addressed, particularly within the biopatent areas. This is exemplified with the evaluation of the AquaBounty-case in the Ethics Committee for Patent Cases. Furthermore, I discuss the relevance of the ethical responsibility of Norwegian public research institutions in current patent policy and how a range of complex ethical and societal issues evade public attention.
Highlights
Interessekonflikter i forskning interest is a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest [...] tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest» (Thompson, 1993: 573)
Fordi forskningens integritet settes på spill, har identifisering og håndtering av slike konfliktsituasjoner vært en av forskningsetikkens mest sentrale oppgaver
In this chapter we look at statements in selected texts from articles, reports and the media which can be linked to uncertainty and quality in research related to the effects of salmon lice
Summary
Interessekonflikter i forskning interest is a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest [...] tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest» (Thompson, 1993: 573). Forskningsetiske retningslinjer for naturvitenskap og teknologi fremhever at det ved oppdragsforskning vanligvis er oppdragsgiver som bestemmer tema og problemstillinger i idéfasen, mens forskeren har ansvar for spørsmål knyttet til metode, datainnsamling og tolkning av resultater, og – mer overordnet – et ansvar for å sikre vitenskapelig kvalitet. Når det gjelder selve bruken av forskningsresultatene, fremhever forskningsetiske retningslinjer at forskere har et ansvar for å bidra med relevant kunnskap.11 Men forskning gir ikke nødvendigvis sikker kunnskap eller entydige svar.
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