Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Keywords

patents, synthetic biology, standardization

Subject Category

Biotechnology | Intellectual Property | Law

Abstract

How applicable are the approaches adopted by information and communication technology standards-setting organizations to biological standards? Most engineering-based industries construct products from standard, well understood components. By contrast, despite the early attachment of the moniker “genetic engineering” to biotechnology, standardization in the biological sciences has been relatively rare.