Synthetic Biology: Generativity and the Limits of Intellectual Property

Synthetic Biology: Generativity and the Limits of Intellectual PropertyGood science can make for good business, but only through the tortured road of property arrangements. Synthetic biologyis an emerging area of technology that brings engineering and biology together, creating unprecedented potential for the rational construction of living organisms with desirable qualities and characteristics. This project allows the principal investigator from the social sciences to discipline hop to synthetic biology. During this period she will explore property and licensing models in synthetic biology by studying the unique aspects of this technology as well as the limitations that are at the heart of intellectual property laws. The investigator will be hosted at Imperial college London, at the Centre for synthetic Biology and Innovation - itself a new joint initiative between Imperial and LSE. There are two main themes that will inform the year long project. The first is the need to anticipate the unique ways in which synthetic biology may challenge conventional principles of patentability. In synthetic biology, problematic aspects of software patents are compounded by unsettled patentability issues in biotechnology, with a consequent exacerbation of legal and policy uncertainty. Good legal policy in this area requires commentators who are skilled not just in the facts of the technology, but also well informed of the research heuristics in this field - skills that the principal investigator will learn during the period of immersion in synthetic biology.The second theme is the unprecedented 'generativity' of synthetic biology. 'Generativity' is a term coined and defined by Jonathan Zittrain in the context of the internet and in essence refers to the ever shrinking technological open spaces on the internet which can give rise to endless innovations due to open legal environments that are maintained through the selective application and non application of copyright, patenting or licensing regimes. It is in this respect that useful comparisons may be made between synthetic biology and the internet that makes end users, collaborators and contributors uniquely prominent.Synthetic biology currently appears to be imbued with an ethos of open science and a distaste for intellectual property. Various initiatives such as the BioBrick Foundation and the Bioconductor project seek to stall the creep of intellectual property, however proprietary technology is already here with synthetic biology patents, possible copyright protection for artificial DNA, privately owned central resources, licensing regimes and public domain resources. The property puzzle raised by intellectual property rights and by alternatives to intellectual property rights is a complex one - the mix of public, common and private property can result in either the stimulation or the dampening of innovation.The discipline hop (or discipline synthesis which may be a more accurate term for the project) will lead to two related goals:Aim 1 - To study the fundamentals of synthetic biology and isolate aspects of the technology that challenge core standards, general principles, and conventional methodology in patent law.Aim 2 - To unravel the property puzzle surroundiing synthetic biology as resource and as product, to examine the role of newly emerging institutions and actors; and to define parameters that are necessary to maintain and grow innovation.It is not uncommon for intellectual property law commentators to write about new developments in technologies, but for reasons central to the proposal, they often remain 'external' experts. In contrast this project provides a unique opportunity to embed a legal academic within synthetic biology for long term cross disciplinary benefit.

There will be at least five key impacts of this project - creation of robust cross disciplinary links nationally and internationally, the generation of new ideas and concepts that may give content to legal and policy measures, the measurement and distribution of innovation in the UK and internationally, the formation of optimum intellectual property standards to increase technological and economic progress, and the ability to contribute to the process of setting priorities for international economic development through the appropriate application of intellectual property rights. Some specific pathways to impact resulting from this project are: 1) The conduct of two workshops with scientists at Imperial college and social science researchers at BIOS via the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation. The final workshop in particular will provide legal imput to develop good governance mechanisms to manage the scientific output of research groups in the UK and internationally with respect to the ownership and dissemination of intellectual products. 2) The international links with scientists in the US will give a deeper understanding of the institutions and legal modes being used in order to maintain an open science ethos in synthetic biology. There is a specific opportunity to contribute to developing ideal licensing terms in templates such as the BioBrick Agreement which will benefit all end users, collaborators and contributors to synthetic biology. 3) Measuring levels of innovation in synthetic biology through patent counts and by reading relevant patent applications will be invaluable in analysing the impact and limitations of patent law. It will also provide insights into potential patentability challenges. At the end of the project, the possibility of a joint workshop with the UK Intellectual Property Office will be explored. As patent policy is often set in tandem with the US and Europe, forging international links with key scientists will faciliate participation in international fora such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation where international patent law priorities are often set. 4) Intellectual property has become a major point of global contention since its link to trade and my work will contribute to understanding the implications of property rights in synthetic biology for international economic development. Participation in forums where the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement is discussed will be possible as a result of my collaboration with legal academics in India and other developing countries. 5) Due to the principal investigator's academic role as a teacher, many cohorts of undergraduate and post graduate students will benefit by knowledge that is transferred through taught and research courses on the legal implications of technology. For example there is an ongoing effort to forge a joint PhD programme between imperial and LSE on cross disciplinary aspects of synthetic biology and the social sciences. At the end of the project year, the principal investigator will be ideally placed to contribute academically to this programme. The contribution could come by way of supervision of specific students or by setting priorities and direction for the PhD programme.