Abstract
This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the ethical and legal aspects of patenting living organisms and genetic material in biotechnology. Its main aim is to assess, from both an ethical and a legal standpoint, the problems raised by establishing property rights over life, to analyse international experience, and to develop practical recommendations for Uzbekistan. The study uses comparative legal analysis, ethical analysis, and socio-cultural and systemic approaches.
The article examines Vandana Shiva's theory of biopiracy, Leon Kass’s concerns about human dignity, Jeremy Rifkin's “playing God” argument, the UNESCO bioethics declarations, and the attitudes of various religious traditions towards biotechnology patents. The main findings are as follows: patents on living organisms are perceived differently across religious and cultural traditions; ethics committees and institutional oversight are necessary; compulsory licensing is an effective mechanism; and public order exceptions are important for ethically questionable inventions such as “Terminator Seed” technology.
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