European Bio-protection Laws: Rebels with a Cause

Recent developments in European bio-intellectual property laws would seem to indicate that there is a coherence of provision across and within the European Union. However, concerns over ethical issues relating to granting monopolies over inventions concerning human genetic material and a desire to comply with obligations imposed by the TRIPS Agreement have meant that there is less cohesion in practice. This article looks at the divergence of implementation, at the national level, of the Directive on the patenting of biotechnological inventions and at the possible implications of allying a key provision within the Community Regulation on plant variety rights with the TRIPS Agreement thereby potentially rendering it non-compliant with the UPOV convention.