The Applicability of the Substantive Requirements for Patent Granting to Biotechnological Inventions: A Legal Study

Abstract

This study examines the applicability of the substantive requirements for patent granting to biotechnological inventions in light of the provisions of Ordinance No. 03-07 on Patents and the relevant international conventions, by examining the extent to which the requirements of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability are met. The examination of these requirements is particularly significant given the nature of biotechnological inventions and their association with living matter. The study concludes that the examination of such inventions requires a greater degree of precision to ensure that the requirements for protection are met and to prevent the granting of patents that are not based on genuine novelty or inventive step, which may lead to a monopoly over their exploitation, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, with consequent effects on product prices.