INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS & THE.(2ED)

“Professor Dutfield's book well deserves an updated edition. Everybody who knows about intellectual property rights — except those with a vested interest in keeping them as they are — accepts that the system is a mess, and is not doing what it is meant to. He shows with clarity and in detail how this has come about in the life sciences through legislation shaped by interests more than by any vision of the public good. Keynes believed that ‘soon or late, it is ideas rather than vested interests, that are dangerous for good or ill’. Intellecual Property Rights and the Life Science Industries is a valuable reinforcement to the ‘ideas’ side in this particular battle.”

“No one studying or thinking about patent issues and the biological sciences can afford not to read Dutifield's ridiculously erudite and comprehensive look at the subject.”

“This second edition is a complete rewrite, much influenced by his increased interest in what it means to invent in the life sciences and by how patent law is shaped by ‘contestable assumptions’ concerning the boundaries between the natural- and the human-made. The book is an extremely readable and scholarly analysis … of key importance for those who want to understand the institutions that make the system tick.”

“A fascinating read. Dutfield is a great intellectual all-rounder who effortlessly combines history, natural science, law, ethics, political analysis and business studies.”

“In this perceptive and politically literate study, Dutfield carefully explains how modern biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies have lobbied for a patent policy that may sometimes promote progress, but that also exacerbates economic inequalities and panders to the anxieties of the ‘worried well’”

“With sustained verve in this extended second edition, Dutfield is convincing in his claim that, whilst the role of patent systems in creating or directing the big breakthrough scientific or technical advances might remain problematic, the life science industries themselves were influenced strongly both by national patent regimes and by the international system globally.”

“With zest and enthusiasm Graham Dutfield has shown that a topic thought dry and specialist is neither. His broad-ranging approach brings out the importance and interest of intellectual property rights to a wide range of scholars.”

“A truly elegant, accessible and enthralling description of the development of the life science industry from the 19th century to the present. This fascinating book should be read by everyone interested in the intersection of science, law and politics.”

“An exceptionally readable and interesting account of the simultaneous growth of intellectual property rights, biological sciences, and the life science industries.”

“A lively and informative account. Dutfield addresses both sides of the equation — the science and technology, as well as the legal framework associated with drug development. He also reflects on current trends in science and technology and the stark choices regarding intellectual property that concern us all, but especially the scientists who have the power to influence government policy and shape the future.”

“A wonderfully informative, insightful, and very readable chronicle. Refreshingly candid, witty, and balanced, I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a broad-based, global perspective on how we got to where we are in life sciences patenting and where we are likely to be headed in the rapidly approaching future.”