On 7-8 April 2008, a symposium on "Public policy patent landscaping in the life sciences" was held in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in cooperation with FAO. Patent landscapes provide information on "what is actually patented, where and by whom". The event focused on how to develop improved information products that meet the needs of policymakers in the life sciences to strengthen the factual background for policy discussions. It took place in the context of a cooperation program between FAO and WIPO on patent landscaping for policy makers and included, among others, a session dealing with patent landscapes on gene promoters for rice, maize, potato and soybean and the patent landscape of the rice genome. While there were no formal outcomes from this exploratory symposium, it identified possible future areas of cooperation that would see closer integration between patent information tools and the ongoing needs of policymakers concerned with plant genetic resources. See the website (agenda and some presentations) or contact [email protected] for more information.

06/05/2008