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![handle is hein.journals/akrintel8 and id is 1 raw text is:
DRATLER 1 (Do NOT DELETE) 4/4/2015 11:41AM
FOOD PATENTS: THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Jay Dratler, Jr *
I. Introduction ......................................................................... 1
II. Why Food is Different ...................................................... 2
A . E conom ics .................................................................. 3
B . E volution .................................................................... 4
C . C om plexity .................................................................. 5
D . A gronom y .................................................................. 6
III. Some Examples of Unintended Consequences .................. 6
A. The Irish Potato Famine ............................................. 7
B. The StoryofDDT ....................................................... 7
C. The Story of Bisphenol A ............................................ 8
D. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) ................ 10
IV . C onclusion ...................................................................... 12
I. INTRODUCTION
All of intellectual property (IP) encourages innovation, at least in
part. Trademark protection promotes the creation and use of innovative
shorthand identifiers for products and services.1 Copyright encourages
creative expression in words, symbols, and (today) multimedia
productions.2 Trade-secrets promote innovation by protecting
investment in (usually productive) secrets from industrial espionage and
other improper means of acquisition.3 And patents protect
* Goodyear Professor of Intellectual Property, Emeritus, University of Akron School of Law.
1. See Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Prods. Co., Inc., 514 U.S. 159, 163 (1995) (In principle,
trademark law, by preventing others from copying a source-identifying mark, 'reduce[s] the
customer's costs of shopping and making purchasing decisions.') (quotation omitted).
2. See Feist Publ'ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co., Inc., 499 U.S. 340, 349 (1991) (to
promote the Progress of Science,... copyright assures authors the right to their original
expression ....).
3. Trade-secret protection also promotes commercial ethics and discourages unfair
DRATLER -1 (Do NOT DELETE)
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