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A Legal Expert Discusses the Impact of Law in Nanotechnology
For many nano researchers on their way to commercializing a product, navigating the sea of legal issues that arises can be a daunting task. In his new book Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects, Dr. Patrick M. Boucher wades through the existing legal framework to address these questions.
Dr. Patrick M. Boucher is the author of Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects
By discussing these areas, Dr. Boucher says, “researchers can become sensitized to the kinds of legal issues that exist as commercialization is undertaken.” He explores how various legal doctrines impact the development, commercialization, and use of nanotechnology.
A patent and licensing attorney with a strong physics and nano background, Dr. Boucher sees intellectual property rights as one of the biggest hurdles currently facing nanotech researchers. “There is a persistent question of whether to disclose [research] results in patent applications and acquire protection that way—or whether to keep the results secret. The number of patent applications being filed … is so high that … a ‘patent thicket’ is developing. This is a situation in which there are so many patents covering aspects of the technology that it is difficult to develop any product that does not infringe at least some patents.”
Regulatory issues are problematic as well due to the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and the impact of one discipline’s rules on another. “Different agencies approach similar issues differently, reflecting the particular concerns of the disciplines that they focus on. The potential does exist, therefore, for regulations intended for, say, medical applications to find themselves being applied to collaborations involving electronics or energy—and doing so in a way that is inappropriate or unconventional for these other disciplines,” explains Dr. Boucher. Yet the lack of unfocused laws specifically for nanotechnology has escalated the rate of innovation and commercialization. As Dr. Boucher points out, “Currently, there are relatively few direct encumbrances to the deployment of nanotechnology in products.” But, he says, “While this is positive, it should be coupled with a recognition that eventually individuals will in some way be harmed by nanotechnology products. It is the occurrence of these harms—and the specific nature of them—that will be the major factors causing legislation specific to nanotechnology to be generated.”
Patrick M. Boucher, Ph.D., is a Partner in the law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Boucher primarily focuses on patent prosecution and licensing of intellectual property involving nanoscale systems, MEMS, optics, acoustics, satellite design, geophysics, semiconductor processing, magnetic materials, microprocessors, and financial business methods. He is the author of Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects (March 2008), which is part of the Perspectives in Nanotechnology series.
A patent and licensing attorney with a strong physics and nano background, Dr. Boucher sees intellectual property rights as one of the biggest hurdles currently facing nanotech researchers. “There is a persistent question of whether to disclose [research] results in patent applications and acquire protection that way—or whether to keep the results secret. The number of patent applications being filed … is so high that … a ‘patent thicket’ is developing. This is a situation in which there are so many patents covering aspects of the technology that it is difficult to develop any product that does not infringe at least some patents.”
Regulatory issues are problematic as well due to the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and the impact of one discipline’s rules on another. “Different agencies approach similar issues differently, reflecting the particular concerns of the disciplines that they focus on. The potential does exist, therefore, for regulations intended for, say, medical applications to find themselves being applied to collaborations involving electronics or energy—and doing so in a way that is inappropriate or unconventional for these other disciplines,” explains Dr. Boucher. Yet the lack of unfocused laws specifically for nanotechnology has escalated the rate of innovation and commercialization. As Dr. Boucher points out, “Currently, there are relatively few direct encumbrances to the deployment of nanotechnology in products.” But, he says, “While this is positive, it should be coupled with a recognition that eventually individuals will in some way be harmed by nanotechnology products. It is the occurrence of these harms—and the specific nature of them—that will be the major factors causing legislation specific to nanotechnology to be generated.”
Patrick M. Boucher, Ph.D., is a Partner in the law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Boucher primarily focuses on patent prosecution and licensing of intellectual property involving nanoscale systems, MEMS, optics, acoustics, satellite design, geophysics, semiconductor processing, magnetic materials, microprocessors, and financial business methods. He is the author of Nanotechnology: Legal Aspects (March 2008), which is part of the Perspectives in Nanotechnology series.