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Is it justified to patent human genetic resources?

In the past century, the scope of patentable objects has greatly expanded. Patents are now being granted on living organisms, human biological material and genes. What are the consequences of such practices for scientific research and health care? One of the fundamental philosophical questions behind this issue is the following: are we justified in patenting human genetic material? An examination of the traditional philosophical justification of intellectual property will allow us to critically explore whether or not this practice is ethically justifiable. It will be argued that the consequentialist justification of intellectual property requires, in this present case, that we modify the patent regimes in order to maximise social benefits and minimize public burdens.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.19699
Date January 2003
CreatorsBrouillet, Miriam
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageMaster of Arts (Department of Philosophy)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 002022785, Theses scanned by McGill Library.

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