Read through Unit IV and respond to Unit IV Discussion Assignment by December 17, 2006.

Should nature be patented?

Seed companies said that it cost billions to develop a cultivar and patenting allows them to recover the cost of developing the cultivar.  Drug and pharmaceutical companies claim the same thing about drug development.  Indigenous groups in certain regions of the world had knowledge of certain medicinal plant species but they might not be willing to part with their knowledge because of the fear of not getting a return for their knowledge.  Worse yet, the environment where the plants came from originally may be gone and/or they have to pay exorbitant prices if they were to get the medicine in the form of the developed drug.  Should plant chemicals and genes be patented?  First give your pros for this question.  Then I want you to also post your cons to the question.

Please post your question  in the Discussion forum by December 17, 2006.