Enola Patent Ruled Invalid: Haven’t we Bean here before? (Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.)
Enviado por ETC Group el
On July 10, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that U.S. patent 5,894,079 (the “Enola” bean patent), which claims a yellow bean of Mexican origin, is invalid because none of the patent claims meet the criterion of non-obviousness. The case has been closely watched by civil society groups concerned about biopiracy, the patenting of life and the corporate control of food production.
Plaga Gris vs Plaga Verde. ¿Cuáles son los verdaderos peligros en el desarrollo de la nanotecnología?
Enviado por ETC Staff el
"El artículo del Príncipe Carlos en The Independent on Sunday (11.07.2004, Reino Unido) muestra gran preocupación por las implicaciones que tiene la nanoteconlogía para la sociedad y la ciencia", enfatiza Jim Thomas de la oficina del Grupo ETC en Oxford. "El Príncipe no solo se aparta de la idea fantasiosa de la 'Plaga Gris' sino que nos recuerda que existen cuestiones muy importantes que aún no se resuelven, como quiénes son los propietarios y quiénes controlan esas tecnologías."
The Precautionary Prince II
Enviado por ETC Staff el
“Prince Charles’ thoughtful article in the Independent on Sunday (UK) is an impressive service to society and science in the unfolding public debate on nanotechnology,” according to Jim Thomas of the ETC Group’s Oxford office. “Not only does the Prince set aside the fictional notion of ‘grey goo,’ but he also sensibly reminds us that there are important unanswered questions relating to the control and ownership of these technologies,” said Thomas.
Nanotech: Unpredictable and Un-Regulated
Enviado por ETC Staff el
The ETC Group releases a new Communiqué today (08.07.2004) that provides an update on policy discussions related to nanotech health and safety issues and the glaring lack of regulatory oversight. According to the ETC Group, governments on both sides of the Atlantic are reluctantly and belatedly conceding that current safety and health regulations may not be adequate to address the special exigencies of nano-scale materials. In sharp contrast to the political climate one year ago, the potential health and environmental risks of some nano-scale technologies are being openly discussed in Europe and North America. Since mid-2002, ETC Group has called for a moratorium on the use of synthetic nanoparticles in the lab and in any new commercial products until governments adopt "best practices" for research.
26 Governments Tiptoe Toward Global Nano Governance: Grey Goovernance?
Enviado por ETC Staff el
On June 17-18 2004, a first intergovernmental dialogue on "Responsible Research and Development of Nanotechnology" convened in Washington with representatives from 26 countries. In his introductory remarks, Mike Roco of the US government’s National Science Foundation explained that the meeting was dedicated to the examination of broad societal issues that cannot be addressed by any single country. Roco asked: "How can we prepare our world for the emergence of nanotechnology?"