AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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Report on Science and Human Rights

Fall/Winter 2003 Vol XXIII, No. 3

Lincoln Harris
Program Associate

The Science and Intellectual Property in the Public Interest Project (SIPPI) is devoted to representing the public interest at the intersection of science and intellectual property. Since it began in 2002, SIPPI has moved from its project planning phase to its first steps in project implementation. Recently SIPPI finished its year long planning phase that included five topical meetings focusing on university technology transfer policies; the research exemption; genetic research and testing; patenting criteria and scope; and, publication and copyright. In September 2002, the project held a public meeting entitled Science and Technology in the New World of International Intellectual Property. Following this meeting, the SIPPI advisory committee met to discuss and select specific project activities for the project to undertake from recommendations made by participants at the planning meetings. Special attention was given to the unique position of AAAS in the scientific community and how it could be most effective in helping to shape and/or affect the intellectual property landscape.

Increasing the level of general knowledge about intellectual property is a cornerstone of the SIPPI project. Recent policy initiatives in U.S. and European depict an emerging trend of more and stronger intellectual property regimes. Yet, there remains a lack of knowledge within the scientific community as to these policy making activities and their effects on research and on the benefits of that research reaching the public. In response, SIPPI has created a new web site dedicated to tracking such issues. While primarily focusing on legislation and litigation in the United States, the site also monitors international laws and events to keep the public interest community abreast of important developments and other issues. This new site will be available on the SIPPI website early in 2004 (http://sippi.aaas.org).

In addition to monitoring policy, SIPPI also follows international debates and participates in international fora. These include such international conferences as at the Role of Science in the Information Society, and the World Summit on the Information Society being held in Geneva, December 2003. SIPPI was recently granted observer status to the WIPO General Assembly that will enable it to participate in meetings of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents.

SIPPI will soon begin a three-year international research project to assess the extent to which intellectual property barriers are affecting scientific research and applications, and to identify priority areas requiring policy attention or non-policy options. A final report analyzing the survey data and delineating its implications will serve as the basis for a series of symposia and meetings with the scientific community and policy makers in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The goal of these meetings will be not only to inform relevant actors, but to assess the most appropriate and feasible policy responses and mechanisms to address the problems and opportunities identified by the survey. SIPPI anticipates that these meetings will serve as the basis for an international network collaborating on science and intellectual property matters.

Other areas in which the project is undertaking activities include examining issues affecting open access to scientific data, and the effects of a recent Federal Circuit court ruling (Duke v. Madey) on the experimental use (or research) exemption on patented technology used in non-commercially oriented studies.

In the future SIPPI will continue to inform, educate, and discuss emerging intellectual property issues. By maintaining contact and involvement with relevant decision making bodies, the scientific community, and others, SIPPI will continue to represent and promote the public interest.