Patentability Requirements for Nanotechnological Inventions : An Approach Form the European Patent Convention Perspective

Nanotechnology has experienced an accelerated development during the last 20 years. The newness of the topic -- combined with the high potential of the technology in terms of capacity to impact people's lives and the business universe expected to be generated -- has produced extensive discussions and controversy, inviting debate on the social, economic, ethical, and legal aspects of nanotechnology, as well as its development, implementation, and use. The economic benefit that is promised to the owners -- or those controlling the knowledge and inventions around nanotechnology -- has encouraged them to follow aggressive strategies with the intention of obtaining exclusive benefits by the legal appropriation of those developments