CTBA Program Is Out of This "Nanosphere"

  Michele Mekel, J.D., M.B.A., M.H.A., Associate Director/Legal Fellow
  Center on Nanotechnology and Society

After attending a few nano conferences, one begins to feel a profound sense of deja vu. That, however, was not the case during the Converging Technologies Bar Association (CTBA) program held in conjunction with the NanoBusiness Alliance's Fifth Annual Nanobusiness Conference on May 18 in New York.

In fact, not only did the CTBA program, entitled A Legal Tutorial - Protecting Your Nano Assets, inform, it also entertained - a rarity for nano conferences (or for professional and academic conferences, in general). As a result, the audience was engaged (even taking on their own roles), without becoming polarized, and a dialogue about key legal issues facing emerging technologies occurred.

The CTBA session accomplished this feat by featuring:

• opening remarks by New York State Assemblyman Jonathan Bing;

• an Oprah-style keynote interview session on confronting key nano business risks;

• a role-playing roundtable on patent system issues surrounding emerging technologies, which included a cast of "four angry men" that featured an administrative patent judge, a U.S. Senator, a representative from a small biotech firm, and a spokesperson from a large biotech concern; and
  
  
• a mock National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) hearing that revolved around the environmental and health risks posed by the operation of a fictitious nanoscale solar energy facility.

As the interviewer during the keynote session, I had the opportunity to pose some of the pressing NELSI (nano-related ethical, legal, and social implication) questions that we at the Center on Nanotechnology and Society grapple with daily to two legal experts, Reed Rubenstein, an administrative and regulatory attorney with Greenberg Traurig, and Bart Seitz, special counsel, environmental, with Baker Botts' Intellectual Property Practice. Both Rubenstein and Seitz stressed the need for the "responsible development" of nanotechnology, which they defined as accountability to workers, consumers, industry, and the environment, coupled with stewardship throughout the entire nanoproduct lifecycle by all players in the nanofield.

From both a risk management perspective and a social responsibility framework, taking the high road of responsible development is all we have to rely on presently to protect against - or, in the event of an adverse event, to mitigate - any negative consequences associated with nanotechnology. And, in adopting this de facto policy - in lieu of an official policy - we have to be ever vigilant of free riders. Otherwise, we will truly be in a mad dash toward the lowest common denominator, and that is not exactly what Richard Feynman was referring to in his 1959 talk, entitled There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom.

For information on the CTBA - info@convergingtechnologies.org or (212) 591-CTBA

Michele Mekel, J.D., M.B.A., M.H.A., is associate director/legal fellow of the Center on Nanotechnology and Society, and executive director/legal fellow of the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future.