This book provides the first comprehensive study of what cannot be patented and what should not be patentable in Europe.

Sigrid Sterckx is a Professor of Ethics at Ghent University and at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium.

1. Introduction; 2. The historical development and current scope of the European Patent Convention; 3. Computer programs; 4. Discoveries; 5. Methods of medical treatment and diagnosis; 6. Essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals; 7. Plant and animal varieties; 8. Morality and 'ordre public'; 9. Towards a coherent interpretation of the exclusions; 10. Conclusion.