Stem cell patents: European patent law and ethics

With the support of the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme, a multidisciplinary project (involving a distinguished panel of bioethicists, lawyers, basic and translational scientists from across Europe and North America) will provide an analysis of ethical and legal issues in the EU patent system as applied to human embryonic stem cells and related technology.

Arising from this analysis will be clear guidance for a harmonisation of the ethical and legal divergence between member states on the operation of the 'public morality' exclusion in Article 6 of the biotechnology directive. There is considerable legal uncertainty as to how the directive should be applied by Patent Offices in Europe. This is in turn creating an uncompetitive climate for the commercialisation of human stem cells and related technologies in Europe.

This project represents the first attempt to provide independent analysis and guidance on responsible European policy in the regulation of biotechnological research and human embryonic stem cell research.

The project's website, www.Nottingham.ac.uk/law/StemCellProject, will disseminate the results of this project to the public.

Specific aims of the project include:

• the identification of existing legal controls in legal regimes across the world and analysis of points of convergence and divergence.

• the analysis of perspectives on the rights of the human embryo and mediating institutions and processes.

• the establishment of a European roadmap with the provision of benchmarks which would satisfy the 'morality' requirement without hindering competitiveness and investment in European biotechnology and human embryonic stem cell industry.

EU Stem Cell Patent Project

FAO Mrs Ann Chudleigh School of Law, University of Nottingham University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD EUStemCellPatentProject@Nottingham.ac.uk T +44 115 9515734 http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/law/StemCellProject/