Introduction : patents as discourse on life : the purposes of patents in the field of biotechnology and biomedical innovation -- The European Patent Office, biotechnology, and ethics : revising ends of policy, and rethinking public deliberation -- Neutral or practically wise regulator? genes, patents, and human health -- Rethinking multilevel governance in the EU and the future of the EPO : from morality to ethics -- Public bioethics, lay opinions, human need : from sex selection to enhancement -- EPO and public bioethics : germ line interventions in human embryos, the problem of commodification and the question of incentives -- TRIPs, access to medicines, and the global governance of patents, cultivating humanity and equity -- Global health networks and discursive legitimacy -- Some reflections on good patent governance -- Conclusions : a discursive analysis of patents.