The Intellectual Property–Regulatory Complex

Advances in agricultural genomics could help address pressing issues, such as world hunger, by improving crop yield. However, overlap and conflict in the laws governing intellectual property and biosafety regimes – known collectively as the “Intellectual Property–Regulatory Complex” – have created significant barriers to innovation. In this collection, leading legal, policy, and economics experts analyze the impact of the Complex on agricultural genomics. They reveal how it affects scientific advancement in ways that are underappreciated when intellectual property and biosafety regimes are examined in isolation, and identify inconsistencies, overlap, and conflict in multiple regimes that collectively impede research, development, and product distribution. They then propose solutions that would facilitate greater efficiency in meeting the aims of the current intellectual property and biosafety regimes that make up the Complex while enabling growth and innovation in this vitally important field.