Biological Innovation for Open Society
Encyclopedia
BiOS is an international initiative to foster innovation
and freedom to operate in the biological sciences. BiOS was officially launched on 10 February 2005 by Cambia
, an independent, international non-profit organization
dedicated to democratizing innovation. Its intention is to initiate new norms and practices for creating tools for biological innovation, using binding covenants to protect and preserve their usefulness, while allowing diverse business models for the application of these tools.
As described by Richard Anthony Jefferson
, CEO of Cambia, the BiOS Initiative worked with small companies, university offices of technology transfer
, attorneys, and multinational corporations to create a platform to share productive and sustainable technology. The parties developed the BiOS Material Transfer Agreement
(MTA) and the BiOS license as legal instruments to facilitate these goals.
' describes a paradigm for software development associated with a set of collaborative innovation practices, which ensure access to the end product's source materials - typically, source code. The BiOS Initiative has sought to extend this concept to the biological sciences, and agricultural biotechnology in particular. BiOS is founded on the concept of sharing scientific tools and platforms so that innovation can occur at the 'application layer.' Jefferson observes that, 'Freeing up the tools that make new discoveries possible will spur a new wave of innovation that has real value.' He notes further that, 'Open source is an enormously powerful tool for driving efficiency.'
Through BiOS instruments, licensees cannot appropriate the fundamental kernel of a technology and improvements exclusively for themselves. The base technology remains the property of whichever entity developed it, but improvements can be shared with others that support the development of a protected commons around the technology.
To maintain legal access to the technology, in other words, licensees must agree not to prevent others who have agreed to the same terms from using the technology and any improvements in the development of different products.
As with other legal instruments, definitions used in the BiOS licenses are important. The scope and core capabilities of the enabling technologies and platforms should be carefully defined to provide confidence in the development of viable business models surrounding the use of the BiOS license.
The adoption of the BiOS licenses has now extended to over 300 licensees worldwide.
s (MTAs), a common form of bailment
used to provide materials for life sciences research, such as bacterial strains, plant lines, cell cultures, or DNA. MTAs able to be adapted for biological materials are available on the BiOS site.
Cambia identified that the majority of patents claiming methods for plant transgenics make explicit reference to the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens
; therefore, the use of a bacterium outside the genus Agrobacterium
would not be subject to existing patent claims. Cambia published its work on TransBacter, which uses bacteria from the genera Rhizobium
, Sinorhizobium
and Mesorhizobium in 2005 in Nature
. TransBacter is available to all non-profit researchers and institutes upon signing a BiOS MTA. For-profit companies are asked to sign a BiOS license and to make a contribution to Cambia which is calculated on the company’s financial means.
An inventory of BiOS-licensed patents is available at the Cambia site.
Innovation
Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...
and freedom to operate in the biological sciences. BiOS was officially launched on 10 February 2005 by Cambia
CAMBIA
Cambia is an independent, international non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing innovation and promoting change for the public good. Through the development and dissemination of new technologies, tools, and collaborative instruments, including the Patent Lens and Biological Open Source ...
, an independent, international non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
dedicated to democratizing innovation. Its intention is to initiate new norms and practices for creating tools for biological innovation, using binding covenants to protect and preserve their usefulness, while allowing diverse business models for the application of these tools.
As described by Richard Anthony Jefferson
Richard Anthony Jefferson
Richard Anthony Jefferson is an American-born molecular biologist, who developed the reporter gene system GUS, a widespread molecular technique...
, CEO of Cambia, the BiOS Initiative worked with small companies, university offices of technology transfer
Technology transfer
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that...
, attorneys, and multinational corporations to create a platform to share productive and sustainable technology. The parties developed the BiOS Material Transfer Agreement
Material transfer agreement
A Material Transfer Agreement is a contract that governs the transfer of tangible research materials between two organizations, when the recipient intends to use it for his or her own research purposes. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the recipient with respect to the materials and...
(MTA) and the BiOS license as legal instruments to facilitate these goals.
Biological Open Source
Traditionally, the term 'open sourceOpen source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
' describes a paradigm for software development associated with a set of collaborative innovation practices, which ensure access to the end product's source materials - typically, source code. The BiOS Initiative has sought to extend this concept to the biological sciences, and agricultural biotechnology in particular. BiOS is founded on the concept of sharing scientific tools and platforms so that innovation can occur at the 'application layer.' Jefferson observes that, 'Freeing up the tools that make new discoveries possible will spur a new wave of innovation that has real value.' He notes further that, 'Open source is an enormously powerful tool for driving efficiency.'
Through BiOS instruments, licensees cannot appropriate the fundamental kernel of a technology and improvements exclusively for themselves. The base technology remains the property of whichever entity developed it, but improvements can be shared with others that support the development of a protected commons around the technology.
To maintain legal access to the technology, in other words, licensees must agree not to prevent others who have agreed to the same terms from using the technology and any improvements in the development of different products.
BiOS License
By making the BiOS license cost-free, Cambia has sought to create 'freedom to innovate' in the scientific community. In lieu of royalties and other restrictions often imposed by legal agreements, the BiOS licenses impose on the licensee conditions to encourage cooperation and development of the technology. To be granted full, unfettered commercial rights to listed technologies, licensees are required to comply with three conditions:- To share with all BiOS licensees any improvements in the core technologies as defined, for which they seek any Intellectual PropertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
protection. - To agree to not assert over other BiOS licensees their own or third-party rights that might dominate the defined technologies.
- To agree to share with the public any and all information about the biosafetyBiosafetyBiosafety: prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health .Biosafety is related to several fields:*In ecology ,...
of the defined technologies.
As with other legal instruments, definitions used in the BiOS licenses are important. The scope and core capabilities of the enabling technologies and platforms should be carefully defined to provide confidence in the development of viable business models surrounding the use of the BiOS license.
The adoption of the BiOS licenses has now extended to over 300 licensees worldwide.
Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs)
BiOS has also issued a series of Material Transfer AgreementMaterial transfer agreement
A Material Transfer Agreement is a contract that governs the transfer of tangible research materials between two organizations, when the recipient intends to use it for his or her own research purposes. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the recipient with respect to the materials and...
s (MTAs), a common form of bailment
Bailment
Bailment describes a legal relationship in common law where physical possession of personal property, or chattel, is transferred from one person to another person who subsequently has possession of the property...
used to provide materials for life sciences research, such as bacterial strains, plant lines, cell cultures, or DNA. MTAs able to be adapted for biological materials are available on the BiOS site.
Open Source Biological Technologies
CambiaLabs engineered two ‘open source’ biological technologies, TransBacter and GUSPlus, which they released under the BiOS Initiative. The first, TransBacter, was designed to work around the intense patenting associated with the making of transgenic plants.Cambia identified that the majority of patents claiming methods for plant transgenics make explicit reference to the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Agrobacterium tumefaciens
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the causal agent of crown gall disease in over 140 species of dicot. It is a rod shaped, Gram negative soil bacterium...
; therefore, the use of a bacterium outside the genus Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria established by H. J. Conn that uses horizontal gene transfer to cause tumors in plants. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the most commonly studied species in this genus...
would not be subject to existing patent claims. Cambia published its work on TransBacter, which uses bacteria from the genera Rhizobium
Rhizobium
Rhizobium is a genus of Gram-negative soil bacteria that fix nitrogen. Rhizobium forms an endosymbiotic nitrogen fixing association with roots of legumes and Parasponia....
, Sinorhizobium
Sinorhizobium
Sinorhizobium/Ensifer is a genus of nitrogen-fixing bacteria , two of which have been sequenced.-Etymology:...
and Mesorhizobium in 2005 in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
. TransBacter is available to all non-profit researchers and institutes upon signing a BiOS MTA. For-profit companies are asked to sign a BiOS license and to make a contribution to Cambia which is calculated on the company’s financial means.
An inventory of BiOS-licensed patents is available at the Cambia site.
See also
- CambiaCAMBIACambia is an independent, international non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing innovation and promoting change for the public good. Through the development and dissemination of new technologies, tools, and collaborative instruments, including the Patent Lens and Biological Open Source ...
- GUS reporter systemGUS reporter systemThe GUS reporter system is a reporter gene system, particularly useful in plant molecular biology. Several kinds of GUS reporter gene assay are actually available, depending on the substrate used...
- Patent LensPatent LensThe Patent Lens is an online patent search facility and knowledge resource, provided by CAMBIA, an independent, international non-profit organization dedicated to democratizing innovation...
- Richard Anthony JeffersonRichard Anthony JeffersonRichard Anthony Jefferson is an American-born molecular biologist, who developed the reporter gene system GUS, a widespread molecular technique...