{"id":5533,"date":"2020-10-31T20:58:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T00:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/st112a-fall20\/?p=5533"},"modified":"2020-10-31T20:58:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-01T00:58:30","slug":"science-for-social-need-the-patenting-of-intellectual-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/st112a-fall20\/2020\/10\/31\/science-for-social-need-the-patenting-of-intellectual-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Science for Social Need & the Patenting of Intellectual Property"},"content":{"rendered":"

In <\/span>The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations,<\/span><\/i> Robert Merton, an American sociologist who is considered a founding father of modern sociology, introduced his \u201cMertonian norms\u201d which outlined the four sets of institutional imperatives. \u201cCUDOS,\u201d or communism, universalism, disinterestedness, and organized skepticism were declared to comprise the basis of the ethos of modern science. While this \u201cethos of science\u201d has not been codified, Merton declares that the values \u201ccan be inferred from the moral consensus of scientists […] in countless writings on the scientific spirit and in moral indignation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet these norms, which conceptually uphold the \u201cmorals\u201d of science are unachievable in a capitalist society.\u00a0<\/span>The Mertonian norm of Communalism, for example, declares that a sense of \u201ccommon ownership\u201d of scientific goods (including intellectual property) is required in order to promote collective collaboration. Furthermore, this norm declares that scientists should have equal access to these goods, and reward for discoveries should not be private ownership, but rather recognition and esteem. The patenting mechanism that makes innovations \u201cprivate property\u201d in the capitalistic economy goes against the ethos of science. The patenting of intellectual knowledge, prevalent in capitalistic society, while providing a certain recognition to individuals for their discoveries, also directly counters the democracy of science by allowing for the \u201csecrecy\u201d of knowledge, and the \u201cownership\u201d of scientific knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merton recognizes the incompatibility of communalism with patenting, when he declares :<\/span><\/p>\n

The communism of the scientific ethos is incompatible with the definition of\u00a0<\/span>technology as \u201cprivate property\u201d in a capitalistic economy\u2026 Patents proclaim\u00a0<\/span>exclusive rights of use and, often, nonuse. The suppression of invention denies the\u00a0<\/span>rationale of scientific production and diffusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet Intellectual Property rights, which allow for the patenting of scientific knowledge, not only go against the communalism ethos of science, but threatens the production of knowledge for greater societal need.<\/span> In <\/span>Biopiracy, the Plunder of Knowledge, <\/span><\/i>Vandana Shiva points to the ways in which the patenting of intellectual property destroys intellectual diversity and creativity. IPR\u2019s which Shiva argues are founded on the fallacy \u201cthat people only if they make profits and guaranteed them through IPR protection\u201d negates the scientific creativity of those not spurred by the search for profits. In turn, the patenting system has led to the skewing of research to target greater commercial interests rather than social needs. Molecular biology, for example, has become increasingly important in the 21st Century for techniques for the biotechnology industry. In turn, other disciplines of biology that may not be as commercially profitable but socially necessary have \u201cshriveled up and died.\u201d Thus, Shiva argues, patents are not necessary for \u201cdeveloping climate of invention and creativity,\u201d and are more importantly used as instruments of market control — which ultimately undermine the social creativity of the scientific community by stifling the free exchange of knowledge among scientists.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we ignore the useful and the necessary to concentrate only on the profitable, Shiva warns that not only are we \u201cdestroying the social conditions for the creation of intellectual diversity,\u201d but as priorities shift from social need to potential return on investment, \u201centire streams of knowledge and learning will be forgotten and become extinct.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The threat of patenting goes well beyond the violation of a Mertonian norm, and in fact threatens to hinder the pursuit of knowledge that isn\u2019t deemed \u201cprofitable.” Yet if it is capitalism monopolizing scientific progress, perhaps it is our economic values, rather than patenting itself, which need to be reconsidered.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sources<\/b><\/p>\n

Shiva, V. (1998). <\/span>Biopiracy: The plunder of nature and knowledge<\/span><\/i>. Dartington: Green Books in association with The Gaia Foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Merton, R. K., & Storer, N. W. (1998). <\/span>The sociology of science: Theoretical and empirical investigations<\/span><\/i>. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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