ABSTRACT
Before any analysis of the healthcare biotechnology management process is to be undertaken, the role of intellectual property (IP) rights in this process needs to be elaborated. There are two main themes of creativity of the human mind. These are its artistic or commercial ideas. The first may come in the form of a poetry, or literature, sculpture, or software. The second may come in the form of a new device, an industrial process, a tool and a chemical reaction. Either of these two forms may be protected by various forms of IP rights, patents, trademarks, or copyrights. Like every other form of IP, a patent is an exclusive right to a creation of the mind surrounding a product or a process. The exclusive rights arising from a patent are awarded to the inventor, who becomes the patent holder. The international patent system awards patents to the original inventor, which in the case of healthcare biotechnology is usually a scientist.
