Qualitative Estimate of the Economic Effects in Austria of the Directive Governing Legal Protection of Biotechnological Inventions

Through its implementation of the directive for legal protection of biotechnological inventions, effective as of 10 June 2005, Austria accepted one of the most intensely discussed aspects of patent law, apart from "software patents". Based on ten in-depth interviews with members of the biotechnology industry, the paper studies the directive's effects on business and research in qualitative terms. Considering that the directive clarifies several grey areas in the field and provides an impetus for Austria as a biotechnology location, its implementation is to be welcomed. The study identifies economic policy aspects primarily with regard to a more rational approach to bioethics, the consideration of strategic patenting in competition policy and an improvement in the practice of issuing patents through the reduction of the perceived "patent jungle".