Who Owns You?

The 2nd Edition of Who Owns You, David Koepsell’s widely acclaimed exploration of the philosophical and legal problems of patenting human genes, is updated to reflect the most recent changes to the cultural and legal climate relating to the practice of gene patenting.

• Lays bare the theoretical assumptions that underpin the injustice of patents on unmodified genes
• Makes a unique argument for a commons-by-necessity, explaining how parts of the universe are simply not susceptible to monopoly claims
• Represents the only work that attempts to first define the nature of the genetic objects involved before any ethical conclusions are reached
• Provides the most comprehensive accounting of the various lawsuits, legislative changes, and the public debate surrounding AMP v. Myriad, the most significant case regarding gene patents

Acknowledgments viii

Preface to the Second Edition x

Foreword xiv

Introduction xxiv

1 Individual and Collective Rights in Genomic Data: Preliminary Issues 1

2 Ethics and Ontology: A Brief Discourse on Method 21

3 The Science of Genes 30

4 DNA, Species, Individuals, and Persons 52

5 Legal Dimensions in Gene Ownership 69

6 BRCA1 and 2: The Myriad Case and Beyond 88

7 Are Genes Intellectual Property? 101

8 DNA and The Commons 119

9 Pragmatic Considerations of Gene Ownership 137

10 Nature, Genes, and the Scientific Commons: A Social Ontology of Invention 155

11 So, Who Owns You? Some Conclusions About Genes, Property, and Personhood 165

Notes 182

Index 194

David Koepsell is an author, philosopher, attorney, and educator whose recent research focuses on the nexus of science, technology, ethics, and public policy. He has provided commentary regarding ethics, society, religion, and technology for MSNBC, Fox News Channel, The Guardian, The Washington Times, NPR Radio, Radio Free Europe, Air America, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Associated Press, and other media. He is currently Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives, Comisión Nacional de Bioética, and a Visiting Professor at UNAM Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas, Mexico, D.F.

Praise for the First Edition:

“A lucid and compelling deconstruction of current practice in the patenting of human genes, exposing inherent contradictions in the process and offering practical ways to resolve them.”
John Sulston, the University of Manchester, Nobel Prize Laureate

“Who owns you is lucidly written and reads as a 101 gene patenting. It is a book suitable for all who wish to understand gene patenting, and obtain a fresh perspective on associated ethical and legal matters”.
Ethical Perspectives

“We live in a century when quandaries that seemed more appropriate for science fiction will become real… David Koepsell here raises a set of fascinating questions that all of us, and policy makers in particular, should ponder as science is slowly redefining what it means to human.”
Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University

“Koepsell’s timely book is highly recommended for all reading levels.”
CHOICE, December 2009