Paper short abstract:

Patent drawings in the domain of regenerative medicine are analyzed from perspectives of pragmatist aesthetics and theory of disposition. The drawings depend on inventors' dispositions and experiences. They are signals of inventors' positions in a social space.

Paper long abstract:

This research studies patent drawings in the domain of regenerative medicine, from perspectives of pragmatist aesthetics and theory of disposition, to understand more about scientific and artistic practices. Hundreds of selected patents - awarded to inventors of various institutions and countries - are analyzed. A first argument is that patent drawings make invisible parts (micro-structure, abstract model, statistical data etc.) of an invention to be perceptible through human eyes. Making patent drawings consists of three levels of practice: operation, interpretation and expression. STSers know that from operation to interpretation produces visualized (scientific) evidences. The research focuses on the process from interpretation to expression. Thus, a second argument is that drawing formation in patenting practices includes scientific, technical, economic and legal dimensions. Drawing formation is an artistic activity that shows the best practice in the form of a visual artwork, and at the same time, maximizes economic and legal scopes of invention by the artwork. Moreover, patent drawings taken from paper figures may be recognized differently. For example, Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk was awarded an US patent in which photos of human stem cells are from a scandalous paper he retracted previously. A third argument is that drawings are "signals" of the inventors' positions in a semi-autonomous social space (patent field). The practices depend on inventors' experiences and their positions in the field. 'Pure' academic inventors tend to ignore patent strategies. On the contrary, 'star' scientists often provide skillful drawings, which are co-produced by elite law firms.