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SUMMARY:The CCR5 gene patent: biomedicine\, intellectual property and comm
 erce in the United States - Myles W. Jackson (Polytechnic Institute of New
  York University and the Gallatin School of NYU)
DTSTART:20100528T153000Z
DTEND:20100528T170000Z
UID:TALK24257@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Alex Broadbent
DESCRIPTION:The patenting of the CCR5 gene has become emblematic both of h
 ow intellectual property law has changed the conduct and content of scient
 ific knowledge as well as the social\, political\, and ethical implication
 s of such a metamorphosis. Although historians of science have argued for 
 decades now that scientific research is often not divorced from commercial
  interests\, it seems that the patenting of human genes represents somethi
 ng very different not only in degree\, but in kind. Although much has been
  written on the possible effects of gene patenting on future research\, I 
 proffer a specific\, concrete example by investigating the material cultur
 al history of CCR5\, one that includes the history of molecular biology\, 
 the sociology of science and technology\, and the history of intellectual 
 property law. The CCR5 patent is particularly interesting because it occur
 s at a period when the status of patenting genes was being renegotiated\, 
 the accuracy of computer sequencing for determining the function and utili
 ty was being challenged\, and the nature of the deposited object vis à vi
 s the written specification was being redefined. In short\, it is a story 
 about the simultaneous instability of a patent claim and the instability o
 f the validity of a scientific technique to make a scientific claim.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, History and Philosophy of Science\, Department o
 f
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