Following the US Patent Office's announcement in 1987 that it considers animals "to be patentable subject matter within the scope" of patent laws, there has been worldwide debate on this subject. This work comprises the proceedings of the Animal Patents Symposium 1988 at Cornell University.

Introduction -- Defining the public interest in the US and European patent systems -- Confronting the questions of life-form patentability -- Commodification, animal dignity, and patent-system publics -- Forging new patent politics through the human embryonic stem cell debates -- Human genes, plants, and the distributive implications of patents -- Conclusion

Intellectual property and patents involving animals is an ever-changing field. The purpose of this book is to review the role that intellectual property plays in the development of modern animal breeding and genetics. It includes discussion of the history of animal patenting, common forms ofintellectual property, economic issues related to patent protection and the funding of research, ethical issues, and the consequences of intellectual property in the modern animal genetics market place.

This Guide aims to assist users in searching for technology information using patent documents, a rich source of technical, legal and business information presented in a generally standardized format and often not reproduced anywhere else. Though the Guide focuses on patent information, many of the search techniques described here can also be applied in searching other non-patent sources of technology information.