The impact of recent developments in patenting and licensing on molecular biology research will be addressed at a workshop at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15-16.
Organizers of "Intellectual Property and Research Tools in Molecular Biology" are particularly interested in getting the opinions of rank-and-file researchers because much of the action in this controversial realm has been dominated by the legal and commercial worlds. As a starting point for discussion, the workshop will consider a group of case studies, including the controversy over the patents for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and expressed-sequence tags (ESTs). There will also be comments from scientific and technology-transfer leaders.
The workshop is co-sponsored by NIH, the National Research Council, the Institute of Medicine, the Academy-Industry Program of the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. If you wish to attend or want more information, contact Jeff Peck (phone: 202 334-2483; e-mail: jpeck@nas.edu).