Tools for Survival: Proposing a Research Exemption for Agricultural Biotechnology Patents to Alleviate Global Hunger

Raj Paul, Georgetown University

Abstract

Global food insecurity continues to hamper Third World countries at an alarming rate, and is of particular concern in the aftermath of the Global Economic Crisis and recent world-wide drought. Developed nations and international organizations have made certain efforts to address world hunger, but one modern breakthrough offers a unique ability to ameliorate this problem: genetically modified food. With the prospect of tailoring crop seeds to have such favorable traits as high yield and drought resistance, the possibilities seem captivating. And indeed, nonprofit organizations and other institutions in recent years have expended considerable effort and expense towards using GM technology in furtherance of improving food security. However, in recent years, the excessive patenting of biotechnological innovations—and of research tools in particular—has placed an enormous burden on such efforts. Such patents now stand in the way of research efforts towards developing seeds that are suitable for the local ecological conditions of impoverished nations, due to the need to obtain licenses to use patented biotech research tools without incurring liability for patent infringement. This Note proposes a research exemption for using patented biotechnological research tools in furtherance of the global hunger epidemic. This proposal, I will argue, is a balanced approach that overcomes the access problem experienced by nonprofit researchers in this area without upsetting the business interests of the biotech industry, while complying with international IP treaties.