About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

8 Akron Intell. Prop. J. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/akrintel8 and id is 1 raw text is: DRATLER 1 (Do NOT DELETE) 4/4/2015 11:41AM FOOD PATENTS: THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES Jay Dratler, Jr * I. Introduction ......................................................................... 1 II. Why Food is Different ...................................................... 2 A . E conom ics .................................................................. 3 B . E volution .................................................................... 4 C . C om plexity .................................................................. 5 D . A gronom y .................................................................. 6 III. Some Examples of Unintended Consequences .................. 6 A. The Irish Potato Famine ............................................. 7 B. The StoryofDDT ....................................................... 7 C. The Story of Bisphenol A ............................................ 8 D. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) ................ 10 IV . C onclusion ...................................................................... 12 I. INTRODUCTION All of intellectual property (IP) encourages innovation, at least in part. Trademark protection promotes the creation and use of innovative shorthand identifiers for products and services.1 Copyright encourages creative expression in words, symbols, and (today) multimedia productions.2 Trade-secrets promote innovation by protecting investment in (usually productive) secrets from industrial espionage and other improper means of acquisition.3 And patents protect * Goodyear Professor of Intellectual Property, Emeritus, University of Akron School of Law. 1. See Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Prods. Co., Inc., 514 U.S. 159, 163 (1995) (In principle, trademark law, by preventing others from copying a source-identifying mark, 'reduce[s] the customer's costs of shopping and making purchasing decisions.') (quotation omitted). 2. See Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., Inc., 499 U.S. 340, 349 (1991) (to promote the Progress of Science,... copyright assures authors the right to their original expression ....). 3. Trade-secret protection also promotes commercial ethics and discourages unfair DRATLER -1 (Do NOT DELETE) 4/4/2015 11-41 AM

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most