§ Mr. BakerTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what relative weight the Minister for Science, Energy and Industry gave to(a) commercial interests, (b) animal welfare and (c) ethical considerations before deciding to write in the terms he did to Members of the European Parliament in respect of the biotechnology patents directive. [9537]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 21 July 19971: The Commission's proposal for a directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions and the report on this proposal by the European Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee are generally consistent with current United Kingdom legislation and practice—the Patents Act 1977—which already balances the needs of industry with ethical considerations, such as animal welfare. In particular, they do not extend or substantially reduce what may be patented, and they set out the same conditions that must be met by an invention if it is to be afforded patent rights. Furthermore, the proposal provides for refusal or revocation of patents relating to transgenic animals if the suffering or handicap to the animal outweighs the benefit pursued. This is the test which is already applied in the United Kingdom.
The Commission's proposal does not seek any change to the nature of the patents system which is currently in operation in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, whereby a patent assists researchers in recouping the costs of their efforts by allowing them to prevent others from using an invention for a limited period, but gives no positive right to use an invention as such. The patent holder must comply with all other legislation and regulations, for instance concerning health, animal welfare and the environment in the making and use of his invention.