Trade Secret and Other Non-Patent Protection

Abstract

The bulk of this book is devoted to the protection of patentable inventions and protectable plant varieties under the various national and international systems which provide such protection. But creations of this sort constitute only a fraction of the technical, commercial, intellectual and tangible properties that are involved in bringing the products of the biotechnological revolution to the people they can benefit. Patents cover only those inventions that qualify for protection under the accepted definition of patentable subject matter and, in addition, that satisfy the standards (novelty, nonobviousness, inventive step) set by the various patent systems. The subject matter for which plant variety protection is available is also limited. These modes of protection are not enough, therefore, to safeguard the large investments necessary to undertake the research and development required in this fledgling industry.