Intellectual Property Law

BIO 2006 met in Chicago earlier this week, and the Blawg was there. BIO, which stands for Biotechnology Industry Organization, is a trade and advocacy group for the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. Its annual BIO conference is its flagship event, and this year almost 20,000 people affiliated with the industry descended on Chicago for three days of meetings, networking and exchanging ideas.

Although the programs at this year?s BIO covered an astonishing variety of topics ? from agricultural biotechnology (this being the Midwest) to partnering to new scientific discoveries ? two topics seemed to get more attention than most others: patent reform and stem cell policy. The Blawg has been reporting on patent reform for a number of months, noting that while several bills have been introduced, none seems to be poised for imminent passage. The speakers at BIO focused on some of the issues the biotech industry considers important, including preservation of the presumption of irreparable harm upon a finding of infringement in cases involving requests for injunctive relief and having the PTO determine validity challenges to issued patents. One pragmatic speaker cautioned that all industries interested in some kind of patent reform should be willing to compromise on certain contentious issues or significant reform would never take place.

Stem cells have also been a regular topic in the Blawg, and several major themes emerged from the stem cell discussions at BIO. First, it will still be some time before practical uses of stem cell technology will appear, as we still have much to learn about the fundamental workings of stem cells. Second, stem cell research involves much more than working with embryonic stem cells, a topic that has received most of the attention and generated most of the current controversy surrounding stem cells, particularly in the U.S. Third, the U.S. is far from alone in putting resources into stem cell research, as many other countries are developing the facilities and the scientists to perform this research. Fourth, and significantly, scientists continue to believe that stem cells hold tremendous promise in the fight against numerous debilitating illnesses and injuries.

BIO 2007 will convene in Boston next year in May. If you don?t go, read the Blawg to find out what the hot topics of 2007 are.

Today's Blogger:  Bob Sloss