Abbott Laboratories 
North Chicago. Illinois 60064 
October 27, 1976 
Donald S. Fredrickson, M.D. 
Department of Health, Education & Welfare 
Public Health Service 
National Institutes of Health 
Bethesda, Maryland 20014 
Dear Dr. Fredrickson: 
We are pleased to offer comments concerning the patent policy 
matters in the area of recombinant DNA research activity set 
forth in your letter of September 7, 1976. 
Because of the potential importance of the field and public 
apprehension over its control, there are three primary goals 
which should be considered in developing a sound patent policy. 
We believe that such a policy should: 
1. Provide incentive for expenditure of risk 
capital, 
2. Encourage the rapid exchange of information 
throughout- the scientific community, 
3. Provide assurances that guidelines for 
conducting recombinant DNA research as set 
forth by the Department are adhered to by 
researchers . 
There are five options listed in your letter concerning treatment 
of rights developed out of research funded by the Department. 
The first and second options would eliminate licensable patent 
rights and provide no commercial incentive for expenditure of 
research funds. They would also tend to delay the publication 
of information because of the reluctance of researchers to rapidly 
submit publications in the absence of proprietary rights. Option 
3 also suffers from these deficiencies and would place an additional 
burden upon the Department. 
Options 4 and 5 would tend to accomplish all three goals. We 
believe, however, that some modifications are necessary to 
eliminate the troublesome aspects of having the Department involved 
in approving specific licensees or specific contract terms. This 
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