6 - Human Rights and Life Patents: Lessons from the Church’s Social Teaching and Engagement in the United States

Summary

Life patents are a form of intellectual property protection being enshrined and strengthened in bi-lateral and multi–lateral trade agreements. The Church’s teaching and societal engagement to protect human rights has grown in response to the expanded use of patents on living matter, including human genes, DNA and stem cells, as well as microorganisms, plants and animals. This analysis is based on three assets of the work of the Church in the United States: 1) the teaching of the Church; 2) relationships with the Church in other nations; and 3) on–the–ground experience in developing nations, especially through the Conference’s relief and development agency, Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The paper explores two questions: What lessons can be learned from the Church’s engagement with life patents as they touch the rights of persons who are poor, indigenous or marginalized? How can the Church appropriately defend the rights of persons at the margins of the global economy, insuring their just and fair treatment, and their access to the life–saving benefits of life patents?