Synthetic Biology and Intellectual Property in Australia: Ownership, Access and the Commons

Synthetic biology offers to transform how we tackle our most difficult global problems, through applications like new energy sources and synthetic vaccines. The fast pace of research in this field and uncertainties about the risks and benefits create complex challenges for regulation. There are important questions about whether the regulatory issues raised by synthetic biology are different from the challenges posed by earlier biotechnologies, how the law can keep up with the science, and how scientists should be involved in developing regulation and policy.