IP becomes a battleground with the public. Because of the complexity, unrelated issues get stuck together and dragged down
Gurry 2017. Francis Gerard Gurry AO is an Australian lawyer who served as the fourth director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization from 2008 to 2020.“The future of intellectual property: opportunities and challenges” WIPO Magazine. p.2-7 <https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo_pub_121_2017_05.pdf> Accessed 7/4/24. ARJSH
How do you see the public debate changing around IP? In recent years we have seen vastly enlarged levels of public engagement, thanks in large part to the Internet, which has brought users into direct contact with IP issues. This is likely to continue. There is, however, a tendency for IP to become the battleground for other issues. Take, for example, the controversy surrounding the patenting of the Oncomouse by Harvard University in 1988 (see box). People inevitably focused on the rights question because the publication of a patent application is generally the first public expression of a new technology. But in reality the more fundamental issue was whether it was acceptable or desirable for researchers to be able to manipulate higher organisms. Today we see a similar scenario playing out in relation to the application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology, which increases the capacity to manipulate all organisms, and has huge implications for health, agricultural and industrial biotechnology. Are you optimistic about the future? In general yes. The stakes are high. We need to hone our risk management techniques.