Intellectual property rights in the context of biology, medicine and pharmacy: a look into the future

Abstract

The article covers the study of some aspects of protecting the intellectual property rights in the areas of biology, medicine and pharmacy including biotechnological inventions. The rapid progress of science and technology, the generation and accumulation of knowledge, the possibilities to process large amounts of various data further stimulate the development of all social areas and unprecedentedly contribute to the emergence of innovations, in particular in the area of biotechnology. Intellectual property rights have a direct impact on the progress of medical and biological research, but increasingly require coordination with the ethical and moral principles of the society regarding the patentability of inventions in biology, medicine and pharmacy.The article analyzes the modern trends in the protection of intellectual property rights to biotechnology inventions at an international level, and forecasts the likely subsequent development in legal protection of intellectual property rights in the areas of biology, medicine and pharmacy in view of the ever increasing ethical and law controversies of medical and biological research in some areas, the emergence of big data, use of artificial intelligence, etc.The national legislation refers to the term «biotechnology» in the Law of Ukraine «On Environmental Protection», while not giving any legal definition of “biotechnology” in any laws. The Ukrainian intellectual property and health care legislation require reformation to get properly updated to respond to the ongoing challenges. There is a whole layer of gaps regarding the legal regulation of using biotechnology in Ukraine, and this extends to all areas where biotechnology is actually integrated. The use of biotechnology in biology, medicine and pharmacy requires a systemic and multi-aspect study in order to develop the appropriate legal norms.To ensure the stability of the pharmaceutical market, which is focused on the national manufacturer, it is necessary to create the proper conditions for the development of a high-tech research environment in Ukraine. It is necessary to improve nationallegislation in the field of biobanking and the legal regime of human biological material for the purpose of using it in research.