ABSTRACT
The advance of genomics in medicine and medical research has raised specific issues with respect to the creation of proprietary interests in inventions based upon donor material, databases compiling samples and related information and genetic resources specific to a particular community. The developments in medical technologies interfere with the conventional division between the public good of medical research, and development and the privacy of the individual, the family and identity. The operation of intellectual property within this area raises complex ethical as well as legal issues with respect to sovereignty over genetic resources and indeed the concept of life in the context of the invention as product. Indeed the politicizing of the public sphere is a critical characteristic of civil society activity in campaigns dealing with intellectual property and the right to public health. Trade secrets and confidential information will have commercial relevance for the protection and licensing of know-how, business information and related information of commercial value.
