This thesis is a critique and proposed reform of the decision-making process under the European Patent Convention 1973, Article 53(a) as it relates to morality. It postulates that the manner in which the morality bar is currently managed is inappropriate as it relies on patent officials to make the initial decision as to whether the patent application is morally permissible or not. In a pluralistic world, morality is understood differently by a wide variety of people but this is not currently being acknowledged within the patent system. Whilst there is an option to bring opposition proceedings to challenge patent grants, this onus is considerable on the challenger and any debate is then played out by a very small sector of highly specialised experts, often with very differing views on morality. This thesis seeks to broaden the decision-making process to reflect society's pluralism. Officials, it will be argued, should instead of trying to decide what constitutes morality in a realm of such importance for humanity as a whole, administer a system which facilitates public participation and a vote. This will be based on existing models of widespread public deliberation and participation, albeit not ones that currently operate in (or near) the patent world. At present, criticisms in the legal literature tend to suggest more deliberation in the patent field and more participation is recommended in science literature but the logistics are unexplored and will be brought together in this work, making an original contribution to knowledge. In order to achieve its aim, the thesis employs a pluralistic methodology which includes doctrinal, socio-legal and interdisciplinary facets which will enable the construction of a model for reform of the patent system in the domain of morality. This will come from outside of traditional legal mechanisms such as legislative, judicial or patent office reform solutions, as a far-reaching paradigm is envisaged. The claim to originality lies in the extraction of principles from deliberative and participatory models of democracy and their application to the decision-making process in morally controversial biotechnological patents.

Biotechnological and genetic patents: legal and ethical approachBiotechnology’s entry to patentable inventions field and ethical questions generated are studied from the analysis between moral and legal order relationship. There are several cases where standards concerning patents came into conflict with public order idea or moral concerns, such as human cloning processes or genetic identity modification of human beings or animals. Among these problems, patenting of human genetic material is pointed out. Different views on the issue are carefully analyzed; this piece of writing a does not pretend to close the debate but to expose the key points involved. / Desde el análisis de la relación entre moral y orden jurídico, se analiza el ingreso de la biotecnología al campo de las invenciones patentables y los cuestionamientos éticos que ha generado. Varios son los casos en los que las normas relativas a las patentes fueron colisionando con la concepción de orden público o la moral, como, por ejemplo, los procedimientos de clonación humana o de modificación de identidad genética de humanos o animales. Entre estos problemas destaca el referente al patentabilidad del material genético humano. Las posiciones sobre el tema son expuesta con detenimiento y el artículo no pretende cerrar el debate, sino exponer sus aspectos más importantes.