Intellectual property sets out the rules that govern who can make, use and sell innovations. It functions by providing the intellectual property holder with the legal right – although not necessarily the practical ability – to prevent imitation of an innovation for fixed periods. In doing so, it provides the intellectual property holder with the possibility of charging monopoly rents over the invention that not only compensates for inventing and developing the invention but that allows him or her to profit. In distinction to other incentive mechanisms – such as public grants and prize systems – intellectual property works through the allocation of private rights that impose costs on technology users. The distribution of the costs and benefits of intellectual property affect rates of innovation not only as between developed and developing countries, but also between fields and types of biotechnology. This report is divided in three parts : agricultural biotechnology, health biotechnology and industrial biotechnology.