The National Human Genome Research Institute announced the availability of some funds to go toward the study of the role that laws and policies have on intellectual property rights in genetics and genomics research, and what effect these laws may have on the progress made (or not) in those fields. If you are at a non-profit company, an academic institution, state or federal agency, or other eligible institution, and are looking for funding for research in these areas, check the link above for information on where to submit your proposal.
This sort of grant should be a dream for some law professors and students out there. The topics that the RFA specifically notes that the NHGRI is interested in are broad enough that, really, any think tank or law school program should be able to find a way to make their pet project fit into the categories. If they ever get some solid numbers for the questions listed under Category #2 (Licensing Practices and Related Policy Implications), I'd love to see them. There is always a general market range for different technologies, but even just answering the question about "what are the terms of such licenses" could be an enormous project in and of itself (and good luck in getting a lot of the companies to thoroughly answer questions about the terms, especially if the agreement terms themselves are subject to confidentiality clauses).
Still, it will be fascinating to see who applies for these and what sort of papers come out of them. I know I'll keep the popcorn ready to be popped to read wha the findings and conclusions are.
In fact, I applied for one of these grants in collaboration with an economist at the U of Minn.
Posted by: carol | December 10, 2004 at 02:12 PM