Large DNA Bioresources:
Goals, Challenges and Proposals Associated with IP and Open Innovation
By invitation
Date & Time: 28 January 2016 from 2.00pm to 6.30pm.
Venue: Trinity Hall Cambridge
This workshop -- organised by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Law, Medicine and Life Sciences and the Centre for Science and Policy -- will discuss IP-licensing practices for large synthetic biology (Synbio) and genomic bioresources. This will follow on from a previous workshop,"Realising Genomic Medicine: Intellectual Property Issues," which was held on 1 May 2015. The report from that workshop can be downloaded here.
Synthetic biology and genomics share an important feature: their development in both academia and commerce depends on the use of large, often publicly funded, bioresources such as BioBricks and the 100,000 Genomes Project. As a result, both fields also share a significant challenge: developing innovation policies for these new resources to ensure that they have real-world impact and become accessible tools for extensive and transformative research. Of crucial importance is how to promote academic research alongside private investment into the translation of technological advances into new products. Integral to any possible solution must be the access and IP policies of bioresources.
The workshop thus has three aims:
- to elicit information, positions and ideas about access and IP practices for large Synbio and genomic bioresources
- to debate whether, and to what extent, “open science” and “open innovation” are applicable to large Synbio and genomic bioresources
- to identify opportunities for mid- and long-term policy impact to assist IP policy development in Synbio and genomics.
The workshop will bring together members of the LML and CSaP networks, including policymakers, leading scientists and legal experts from industry, the University of Cambridge and elsewhere.