On 19 & 20 November 2019, the Patents and Emerging Technologies Workshop was held at the Wellcome Collection in London. The workshop was convened by SCuLE’s Dr Naomi Hawkins, as the final workshop of her ESRC Future Research Leaders project, “The Impact of Patents on Translational Research – Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis in Europe and US”.
The workshop explored recent technological developments in modern biotechnology and areas such as artificial intelligence and the challenges they pose for the patent system. The questions were explored against the broader social and political context, with the potential for solutions to challenges to arise from fields beyond the core of the patent system also considered.
The event featured the research of the following scholars from the UK, Europe and Australia: Emanuela Gambini (QMUL), Marc Mimler (Bournemouth University), Phoebe Li (University of Sussex), Mike Adcock (Durham University), Kathleen Liddell, John Liddicoat, Mateo Aboy and Andrew Sagar (University of Cambridge), Dianne Nicol (University of Tasmania), Justine Pila (University of Oxford), Alison Slade (University of Leicester), Katerina Sideri (Ghent University), Ella O’Sullivan (Waterford Institute of Technology). From the University of Exeter, Dr Naomi Hawkins spoke about the notions of compliance, awareness and engagement in relation to challenges for policy responses to enhance openness, access and affordability in biomedicine. SCuLE’s Dr Karen Walsh discussed whether emerging inventions disrupt the balance between patents and the public.
Photo courtesy of Naomi Hawkins.