Biopatent and Biopiracy

A patent is a special right granted to an inventor by the government, and it is treated as the inventor's personal property -- it can be sold, like any other property. A patent has three parts: the grant (the agreement made with the inventor), the specification (the subject matter of the invention), and the claims (the scope of the invention that is being protected). A biopatent is simply a patent covering a biological invention, and it is awarded for things such as strains of microorganisms, cell lines, genetically modified strains, DNA sequences, biotechnological processes, and the resulting products and product applications. The sect …