ISSN Print: 2151-805X
ISSN Online: 2151-8068
How Drug Patents Might Lead to Disincentives for Moral Bioenhancement
ABSTRACT
Biological moral enhancement (BME) and intellectual property (IP) might seem two entirely distinct areas. While BME refers to moral enhancement techniques which presuppose the use of biological means, the moral and legal debate surrounding IP tries to tackle the issue of whether ideas could/should be appropriated. In our paper we wish to link the two debates by exploring the consequences of the current IP and patent system in relation to the propensity of individuals to become morally enhanced through drugs or other pharmaceutical compounds. If artificial scarcity is one of the intended consequences of patents, we argue in favor of the following (weak) thesis: intellectual property rights provide noticeable disincentives for individual and voluntary moral bioenhancement.
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Vică Constantin, Socaciu Emanuel-Mihail, Mind the Gap! How the Digital Turn Upsets Intellectual Property, Science and Engineering Ethics, 25, 1, 2019. Crossref