ABSTRACT
The twenty-first century has been dubbed the ‘century of biology’,1 with biology leading the way to revolutionary changes in society. Backing such change would be the innovation system that fuels the growth of technology – IPR. This is one of the main premises for IPR systems. But IPR protection and public policy goals are both important. Public trust and support are essential for the funding and application of science and technology.2 Therefore both equitable growth and a rights protection system are essential to create a revolution in biology. This chapter deals with some of the tensions and problems that have arisen in the debates on governance of human genome research in the context of the CHM and IPR. The objective of this chapter is to examine links between international law, human rights, health, development and notions of property, including intellectual property (IP), and to reorient the debate on the CHM and IP.
