Understanding genetic information as a commons: From bioprospecting to personalized medicine

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss how the concept of commons can be enlarged to include genetic resources – both naturally occurring and as essential resources in research laboratories – that are increasingly considered as part of market frameworks. Looking beyond the enclosure of traditional public goods (such as land or water), the paper emphasizes the debate around the progressive commodification of genetic resources and associated genetic information operated by means of intellectual property rights or other forms of management of knowledge. The discourse around commons is used to evaluate alternative tools and strategies to the issue of private appropriation of human genetic resources and natural compounds.