Patent law and bioprospecting in Antarctica

Tvedt, Morten Walløe

doi:10.1017/s0032247410000045

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Its most near-term potential likely relates to bioprospecting. Bioprospecting on the HIMI continental shelf may hold significant economic potential for Australia, due to the value of novel genetic resources to the pharmaceutical industry among others, and the exclusive rights that the discovery may hold under patent law (Tvedt, 2011). Australia's right to exclusively access these genetic resources and regulate their harvesting when it occurs on the seabed may be of significant future economic value to Australia.…”

Section: -Reserving Opportunities For Future Generationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Kerguelen Plateau: Interactions between the Law of the Sea and the Antarctic Treaty

Titterton

Haward

2022

Marine Policy

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Section: -Reserving Opportunities For Future Generationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Kerguelen Plateau: Interactions between the Law of the Sea and the Antarctic Treaty

Titterton

Haward

2022

Marine Policy

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“…Bioprospecting is a rapidly accelerating activity in Antarctica with new players such as Malaysia with strong commercial interests in Antarctic organisms [ 31 , 32 ]. Terrestrial and marine biological material from Antarctica can be accessed either by collecting specimens from the field or from ex situ collections of Antarctic Biological Material (ABM) held in institutions around the world [ 26 ].…”

Section: Marine Biotechnology: Governance Access and Benefit Sharmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Terpenoids from Polar Latitudes and Their Potential Applications in Biotechnology

et al. 2020

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Polar marine biota have adapted to thrive under one of the ocean’s most inhospitable scenarios, where extremes of temperature, light photoperiod and ice disturbance, along with ecological interactions, have selected species with a unique suite of secondary metabolites. Organisms of Arctic and Antarctic oceans are prolific sources of natural products, exhibiting wide structural diversity and remarkable bioactivities for human applications. Chemical skeletons belonging to terpene families are the most commonly found compounds, whereas cytotoxic antimicrobial properties, the capacity to prevent infections, are the most widely reported activities from these environments. This review firstly summarizes the regulations on access and benefit sharing requirements for research in polar environments. Then it provides an overview of the natural product arsenal from Antarctic and Arctic marine organisms that displays promising uses for fighting human disease. Microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, and macroorganisms, such as sponges, macroalgae, ascidians, corals, bryozoans, echinoderms and mollusks, are the main focus of this review. The biological origin, the structure of terpenes and terpenoids, derivatives and their biotechnological potential are described. This survey aims to highlight the chemical diversity of marine polar life and the versatility of this group of biomolecules, in an effort to encourage further research in drug discovery.

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“…In the case of marine environments the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, under the United Nations General Assembly, is considering the creation of a new instrument on marine genetic resources outside national jurisdictions such as hydrothermal vents and the deep sea bed [88] , [89] . Outside the United Nations system, the Antarctic Treaty Council has considered the emergence of biological prospecting for extreme organisms within its jurisdiction [90] – [92] . In the realm of trade, debate is concentrated around the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council) at the World Trade Organization [93] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological Diversity in the Patent System

2013

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Biological diversity in the patent system is an enduring focus of controversy but empirical analysis of the presence of biodiversity in the patent system has been limited. To address this problem we text mined 11 million patent documents for 6 million Latin species names from the Global Names Index (GNI) established by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). We identified 76,274 full Latin species names from 23,882 genera in 767,955 patent documents. 25,595 species appeared in the claims section of 136,880 patent documents. This reveals that human innovative activity involving biodiversity in the patent system focuses on approximately 4% of taxonomically described species and between 0.8–1% of predicted global species. In this article we identify the major features of the patent landscape for biological diversity by focusing on key areas including pharmaceuticals, neglected diseases, traditional medicines, genetic engineering, foods, biocides, marine genetic resources and Antarctica. We conclude that the narrow focus of human innovative activity and ownership of genetic resources is unlikely to be in the long term interest of humanity. We argue that a broader spectrum of biodiversity needs to be opened up to research and development based on the principles of equitable benefit-sharing, respect for the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, human rights and ethics. Finally, we argue that alternative models of innovation, such as open source and commons models, are required to open up biodiversity for research that addresses actual and neglected areas of human need. The research aims to inform the implementation of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and international debates directed to the governance of genetic resources. Our research also aims to inform debates under the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

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Patent law and bioprospecting in Antarctica

Cited by 13 publications

References 7 publications

The Kerguelen Plateau: Interactions between the Law of the Sea and the Antarctic Treaty

The Kerguelen Plateau: Interactions between the Law of the Sea and the Antarctic Treaty

Marine Terpenoids from Polar Latitudes and Their Potential Applications in Biotechnology

Biological Diversity in the Patent System

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