첨단과학기술의 지적재산권 보호와 그 과제

Abstract

In recent years due to the scientific and industrial growth in the fields of bio-technology, computer science and inventions related genetic resources, there are the numberous, and more difficult, normative questions concerning patentable subject matter. The controversy on the limits of patentable subject matter in Draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty is based on the diversity of the scientific and industrial advance of WIPO members. In dealing with patentable subject matter of existing patent law system, a great deal of members are affirmative for including ‘all fields of technology’, to comply with the Article 27 of TRIPs. However, only a few members uphold that patentable subject matter may be ‘anything under the sun that is made by man’(as in Charkrabarty case), whether the invention depends on the specific technology or not. With respect to WIPO legislating on patentable subject matter and its influence on the existing Patent Act of Korea, this article speculates some considerations for resolving the questions exposed in dealing with patentable subject matter; patent policy for industrial development, social/economic issue, fundamentally normative issue for invention protection, ethical issue for invention relating human cell, malfunction issue for telecommunication development, and issue for patent law harmonization.