SynBERC is sponsoring the first SynBiOSIS (Synthetic Biology Ownership, Sharing & Innovation Symposium) to be held at Stanford University on January 27-28, 2012. Participants will comprise a collection of leading experts in intellectual property law and representatives from across various institutions who are facing property rights challenges in the development of tools and applications of synthetic biology.

Uses of genetic functions are now typically protected and shared via a patent-based property rights framework. However, new tools including advanced DNA synthesis, automated strain engineering, and associated technical standards are producing geometric increases in both the complexity of designer DNA systems and the scale of DNA parts sharing. Many examples now exist wherein the existing patent-based ownership, sharing, and innovation framework is either being ignored or simply breaking. There is a vital need to understand if and how property rights mechanics might be best applied or updated for synthetic biology in practice.

Symposium leaders hope to investigate and develop options that others can consider regarding how property rights can be used to best support ownership, sharing, and innovation in synthetic biology and biotechnology, more broadly. "We are not exploring how to do away with property rights, and we are not against wealth creation," explains Linda Kahl, symposium co-organizer and Social Science Research Associate in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University. "Just the opposite. We believe the existence of property rights and the concomitant incentive for investment can promote innovation in biotechnology."