Bioprospecting, which involves the discovery and commercialization of new products derived from biological resources, is alluring, exciting, and, when conducted in an environmentally friendly manner, has great potential to provide beneficial results to humankind. But bioprospecting is also fraught with many legal pitfalls for uninformed or unmindful bioprospectors and those who invest in them. Understanding this complex and changing legal landscape is indispensable to a successful bioprospecting enterprise.
Bioprospecting: A Hot Spring of Legal Issues
Bioprospecting: A Hot Spring of Legal Issues
Vol. 9, No. 2
Rebecca Mahurin, Ph.D., is director of the Technology Transfer Office at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. She was science advisor for Skyland Scientific Services, a pharmaceutical consulting firm, prior to moving to MSU in 1991. Adam L. Lunceford, Ph.D., is an associate in the Patent Counseling & Prosecution practice group and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department at Cooley LLP. Previously, he was a patent agent at AgraQuest, Inc. where he assisted with the patenting of microbial strains for use as biopesticides and plant growth promoters. Erich E. Veitenheimer, Ph.D., is a partner in the Patent Counseling & Prosecution Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department at Cooley LLP. He formerly was a senior corn breeder with DeKalb Genetics International and a primary examiner in biotechnology at the US Patent & Trademark Office.
