Degree Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2007
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Christopher Curtis
Second Advisor
Amy Bix
Third Advisor
Sara Gregg
Abstract
In 1980, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty that living material was in the category of patentable subject matter, provided that the living material was a product of human invention as opposed to a product of nature. The fact that the material was living or inanimate was held to be irrelevant to the issue of eligibility for a patent. This ruling was the centerpiece in a series of events that combined to secure the status of animate material as private property. These events fundamentally changed the nature of scientific research in the academic community and the relationship between the university and the private market. These events also had a chilling effect on the pubic debate over the safety, ethics, and morality of commercializing biological material. As a result, the citizens of the United States have never fully dealt with this complex ethical issue except from a purely economic perspective.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-16169
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/
Copyright Owner
Kevin F. Howe
Copyright Date
2007
Language
en
Proquest ID
AAI1446032
OCLC Number
180853458
ISBN
9780549141518
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
98 pages
Recommended Citation
Howe, Kevin F., "The right to obtain patent protection on living material: the causes and consequences of the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty" (2007). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 15033.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/15033
