Preface -- Andreas Hübel: The Boundaries of Limits - Plant Biosciences -- Ulrich Storz: The Limits of Patentability - Stem Cells -- Aloys Hüttermann: The LImits of Patentability - Genes and Nucleic Acids -- About the Authors.

SpringerBriefs in Biotech Patents presents timely reports on intellectual properties (IP) issues and patent aspects in the field of biotechnology. In this volume the limits of patentability are addressed, a question that is often raised when it comes to biotechnological inventions: The first section addresses current issues in the patentability of plants produced by essentially biological processes including the controversy between farmer’s privilege and patent exhaustion with respect to seeds in the US. The second section examines the patentability of human embryonic stem cells in Europe and the US, also considering alternative technologies with respect to their practicability and patentability. The third section focuses on the patentability of genes and nucleic acids, especially the issue of patenting of encoding genes and nucleic acids.