Genomics in the public domain: strategy and policy

The public domain has been conspicuous in media accounts of public and private sector initiatives to complete the sequence of the human genome. The issue of whether the human genome will be freely available to the public or privately held as a proprietary resource has captured the attention of the scientific, trade and popular press, the financial markets, and even heads of state. Although some media commentary has framed the issue as a conflict between ethics and greed, strategic considerations go a long way towards explaining the timing and quality of information disclosures on both sides of the public-private divide.