WHEN SPEED TRULY MATTERS, OPENNESS IS THE ANSWER

ABSTRACT In this paper I analyse the ethical implications of the two main competing methodologies in genomic research. I do not aim to provide another contribution from the mainstream legal and public policy perspective; rather I offer a novel approach in which I analyse and describe the patent‐and‐...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioethics 2009-09, Vol.23 (7), p.385-393
Main Author: MARTURANO, ANTONIO
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to Information - ethics
Bioethics
Biotechnology
Computers
copyleft
Ethics
Explosions
Free Software Foundation
Genetic research
Genetic Research - ethics
Genomics
Human genetics
Human Genome Project - ethics
Humans
Information technology
intrinsic good
Merton's principles
Open Source
Openness
patent-and-publish
Patents as Topic - ethics
Publishing
Publishing - ethics
Research methodology
Research methods
Software
Technology
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Summary:ABSTRACT In this paper I analyse the ethical implications of the two main competing methodologies in genomic research. I do not aim to provide another contribution from the mainstream legal and public policy perspective; rather I offer a novel approach in which I analyse and describe the patent‐and‐publish regime (the proprietary regime) led by biologist J. Craig Venter and the ‘open‐source’ methodologies led by biotechnology Nobel laureate John Sulston. The ‘open‐source methodologies’ arose in biotechnology as an alternative to the patent‐and‐publish regime in the wake of the explosion in computer technology. Indeed, the tremendous increase in computer technology has generated a corresponding increase in the pace of genomics research. I conclude this paper by arguing that while the patent‐and‐publish method is a transactional method based on the exchange of extrinsic goods (patents in exchange for research funds), the free and open‐source methodology (FLOSS)1 is a transformational method based on a visionary ideal of science, which leads to prioritizing intrinsic goods in scientific research over extrinsic goods.
ISSN:0269-9702
1467-8519
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2009.01723.x