This chapter deals with some of the contentious court cases involving patent eligibility issues in life science areas in several countries, including the European Union (EU), USA, UK and India. Court cases on patent eligibility of thiopurine drugs to treat autoimmune diseases, diagnostic method for ...

This chapter covers the government regulation of transgenic fish and biotechnology products in different countries (USA, Canada and UK). Focus is given on regulations regarding the research and marketing of transgenic food organisms, culture of transgenic fish, introduction and release into the...

This chapter provides an understanding of the nature of public attitudes towards agricultural biotechnology in the UK. This includes a history of the biotechnology controversies in Britain in the late 1990s. Results of a 2003 British survey on the perceptions of genetically modified (GM) food and...

This chapter begins with a discussion on the forms of policy forums in which the organic movement in the UK has been involved and how these can be related to the theory of social movement studies. A narrative is then presented of the organic movement's involvement in the GM crop trials and how it...

This chapter analyses whether national or sectoral systems of innovation are dominant in shaping the development of agro-food biotechnology within the European Union. A simplified overview of the factors significant to innovation, the embedding networks, and their inter-relationships is presented....

This chapter examines both the promotion and regulation of genetically modified (GM) crops at the European Union (EU) level and within the UK. It also examines the EU-member state strategy for regulatory integration.

This chapter analyses mass media coverage of agrobiotechnology in a risk communication framework using content analysis. Coverage in US and UK newspapers over the period 1990-99 is analysed. In particular, the chapter examines how environmental and food safety risks and benefits have been...