Public Domain for Genetic Resources in Norway - a Legal Analysis

The topic for this project is legal aspects of the concept public domain regarding genetic resources and associated knowledge. The public domain can in short be described as specifying resources that are not subject to individualised exclusive property rights, but available for public usage. Discussions of property rights to genetic resources and related knowledge have been acut alised by the biotecknological progress in this field, which has made exclusive individual rights to the material and option. The followign three research questions will be investigated: 1. What is the legal understanding of the concept of public domain both seen from at theoretical perspective and from the perspective of international law? 2. What is the current legal situation in Norway? This will be investigated from two perpectives: from the public law perspective and from a private law perspective (private law comprises tangible property law and intellecutal property law) 3. How can changes in this field of law alter the legal positions of the users of geneti resources and other stakholders? This project will provide a bais for discurssing how law can be used as a tool to offer favouralble conditions for private as well as public innovation and values creation.