22 November, 2005
Speakers and participants from the World Intellectual Property Organization, the UK Patent Office, the European Patent Office, consumer and agricultural NGOs, speakers from developing countries, artists, activists, and academics, will gather in London, 1-2 December, to consider the critical question of life patents at the international "Patenting Lives" Conference. The Conference is almost unique in its efforts to bring together diverse individuals - artists and academics, activists and practitioners, government and NGOs - to harness public debate on these significant questions.
The Patenting Lives project, led by Dr Johanna Gibson (QMIPRI, University of London), is an AHRC funded project, considering the questions raised by life patents. As well as the important legal and ethical questions, Patenting Lives is considering the impact on cultural, social, and intellectual life. Indeed, is intellectual property protection compatible with the facilitation of social, cultural, and economic development of non-industrialised countries in the areas of technology and cultural life that might be affected? The conference will bring together diverse and often conflicting viewpoints on these important questions. The outcome of this pioneering meeting will be of key interest not only to intellectual property practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and indigenous and traditional groups, but also to regional and national governments and policy-makers.
For further information and registration, please contact:
Dr Johanna Gibson
QMIPRI
John Vane Science Building
Charterhouse Square
London EC1M 6BQ
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7882 5937
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7882 3446
j.gibson@qmul.ac.uk