Patenting Trends in Marine Biodiversity: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are so fundamentally different in some aspects that many of the issues concerning biodiversity cannot be interpreted using a single theory of common application to all ecosystems. This article firstly gives the current statistics of Marine Biodiversity worldwide with India’s contribution.Marine organisms comprise approximately a half of the total biodiversity, thus offering a vast source to discover useful therapeutics. In recent years, a significant number of novel metabolites with potent pharmacological properties have been discovered from the marine organisms. The ‘marine world’ boasts of innumerable life forms, each with a unique characteristic, making its genetic make-up the most sought after field for marine researchers. Coral reefs are known as the “rainforests of the sea,” it is exploited for cosmetics to pharmaceuticals patents. This research paper discusses the entire issues of exploiting marine biodiversity for Pharmaceutical Patents.Marine biodiversity contains most Phylogenetic and genomic diversity on Earth. Progress in marine and molecular technologies has facilitated “Bio prospecting,” with the number of patent claims associated with genes of marine organisms growing at 12% per year. The global market for marine biotechnology was estimated at U.S. $2.4 billion in 2004, with estimated average growth of 5.9% per year from 1999 to 2007. With this prospective this article concludes with the issues and challenges of Marine Biodiversity and Gene Patents with some suggestions.