Resnik D B
Department of Medical Humanities, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2001 Jan;7(1):29-62. doi: 10.1007/s11948-001-0023-9.
This paper focuses on the question of whether DNA patents help or hinder scientific discovery and innovation. While DNA patents create a wide variety of possible benefits and harms for science and technology, the evidence we have at this point in time supports the conclusion that they will probably promote rather than hamper scientific discovery and innovation. However, since DNA patenting is a relatively recent phenomena and the biotechnology industry is in its infancy, we should continue to gather evidence about the effects of DNA patenting on scientific innovation and discovery as well the economic, social, and legal conditions relating to intellectual property in biotechnology. We should give the free market, the courts, researchers, and patent offices a chance to settle issues related to innovation and discovery, before we seek legislative remedies, since new laws proposed at this point would lack adequate foresight and could do more harm than good. However, we should be open to new laws or regulations on DNA patents if they are required to in order to deal with some of the biases and limitations of the free market.
本文聚焦于DNA专利是有助于还是阻碍科学发现与创新这一问题。虽然DNA专利给科学技术带来了各种各样可能的益处和危害，但就我们目前所掌握的证据支持这样一个结论：它们可能会促进而非阻碍科学发现与创新。然而，由于DNA专利是一种相对较新的现象，且生物技术产业尚处于起步阶段，我们应当继续收集有关DNA专利对科学创新与发现的影响以及与生物技术知识产权相关的经济、社会和法律状况的证据。在寻求立法补救措施之前，我们应该给自由市场、法院、研究人员和专利局一个解决与创新和发现相关问题的机会，因为此时提出的新法律将缺乏足够的前瞻性，可能弊大于利。然而，如果为了应对自由市场的某些偏见和局限性而需要出台关于DNA专利的新法律法规，我们应该持开放态度。
