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17^th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability�(online) �24^th -26^th February, 2021�Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam�

Kalpana S Murari

India

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Economic Impact of Biomimicry Products

It is predicted that Biomimicry could account for $425 billion in US GDP and $1.6 trillion in Global GDP, as well as generating savings associated with reduced resource depletion and mitigation of pollution levels.(FERMANIAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC INSTITUTE)
Inherent ability to advance innovation in green technology
Promises high return on investment.

(Major inputs from Kennedy, E. B., & Marting, T. A. (2016). Biomimicry: Streamlining the Front End of Innovation for Environmentally Sustainable Products)

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Levels of Biomimicry and Forms of innovation

Natural forms, Natural processes and Natural Ecosystems

Achieving climate resilient architectural designs and agricultural methods
Emulating natural systems to find biomimetic solutions for infrastructure building
Production of biodegradable raw materials from naturally available biological materials
Production systems with zero environmental impacts and socially advantageous end-uses.

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Effectiveness of Biomimicry

As an eco-design tool, biomimicry projects are

Energy saving
Resource efficient and
Accelerate front-end innovation
Leans upon the concept of ‘natural selection’ that favors

High performance
Survival strategies that can be emulated to address technical constraints
Example : Calcium carbonate powder inspired by coral’s carbon dioxide-fixing process to be used in concrete mixes to reduce the carbon footprint of cement
Simulating photosynthetic process to design cheaper and energy-efficient solar cells.
Kindly visit https://biomimicry.net for further information.

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Traversing legal landscape for Biomimicry

Exploring principles of International Economic law and Bioethics law to incentivize manufacture of bio-inspired products.
Enhancing already existing principles of judicial exception to patentability of all natural products that duplicate materials found in nature.
Excluding patentability of products that are intrinsically identifiable as “products of nature” and “beneficial inventions” similar to life-saving drugs.
Redesign IP laws to benefit:

Analogous lead product concepts that are useable in early stages of product development.
Abstract design principles extracted or derived from biological models
Independent ideation of new products and concepts derived from biology