Daniel J Kevles, the Stanley Woodward Professor of History at Yale University, teaches and writes about issues in science and society past and present. He has received various honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Page One Award, the Watson Davis Prize, and the History of Science Society’s George Sarton Medal for career achievement.

In his talk, Dan explains how innovation in fruits turned from a pastime of gentlemanly amateurs into a commercial business by the middle of the nineteenth century. A number of innovators tried to protect their fruits more precisely by commissioning colored lithographs and watercolors. However, registered illustration proved ineffective for IP protection in fruits, and horticulturalists resorted to alternative arrangements that included pricing, contracts, legislation, and in our own day, patents on genes.

Outreach in Biotechnology’s Food for Thought Lecture Series brings together internationally recognized experts to talk about the best (and worst) ways to use biotechnology for food and fuel. For more information, go to http://OregonState.edu/OrB

A study guide to this lecture is available at http://oregonstate.edu/orb/food-for-thought

Recorded 10 Apr 2008