1. GENETIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
As reading, manipulating, and exploiting genetic information becomes easier and cheaper, tools will emerge to control both the access to and the sharing of this information. Following the lead of digital rights management (DRM), genetic watermarks and amino acid safety locks will become the cornerstones of an increasingly controversial practice of genetic rights management (GRM), designed for both safety and IP control.
Within a decade, these GRM technologies and practices will be as contested—and as easily hacked—as today’s DRM practices.

2. WHAT‘S DRIVING THIS FORECAST
The growing ability to hack genetic information using simple tools that are increasingly accessible to even amateur biologists
The demonstrated ability to embed genetic watermarks and amino acid safety locks in synthetic organisms and genetically sequenced material
Safety concerns about genetically modified organisms and the desire for systems of bio-containment
The market potential of genetically-engineered material— from boutique pets to energy-producing algae to replacement organs for humans

3. GENETIC WATERMARKS
Companies, scientists, and biohackers alike brand synthetic genetic products and processes with hidden genetic codes to maintain control and ownership of novel genetic sequences
SIGNAL: The J. Craig Venter Institute added a watermark when they created the first replicating synthetic microbe in 2010
The watermark codes for Mycoplasma laboratorium are created with amino acids, each of which stands for a letter. The four watermarks contain the following information:
Watermark 1 is an Html script that reads to a browser as text congratulating the decoder with an link to click to prove the decoding.
Watermark 2 contains a list of authors and a quote from James Joyce: “To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life.”
Watermark 3 contains more authors and a quote from Robert Oppenheimer (uncredited): “See things not as they are, but as they might be.”
Watermark 4 contains yet more authors and a quote from Richard Feynman: “What I cannot build, I cannot understand.”
SO WHAT: Genetic watermarking becomes a lightning rod for clashes over the ethics of enclosing life forms for profit
Image source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycoplasma_laboratorium

4. GENETIC LOCKS Image source: hms.harvard.edu/news/no-escape
Synthetic amino acids are used to “lock” genetically-engineered organisms to control unauthorized or accidental replications
SIGNAL: Harvard and Yale scientists announce a technique to engineer E. Coli to require a synthetic amino acid in order to survive
SO WHAT: Genetic locks become a standard, if often contested, tool for boosting GMO safety by reducing the chance of accidental replication
Image source: hms.harvard.edu/news/no-escape

5. HUMAN GENETIC MANAGEMENT
Genetic locks stir controversy when applied to human artificial chromosomes (HACs) used in gene therapy
SIGNAL: Chromo Research provides novel HACs for gene therapy and regenerative medicine
SO WHAT: As regenerative medicine promises to extend life for an aging population, access to HACs becomes contested
Image source: chromoresearch.co.jp/e/chromosome/

6. THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
Both genetic watermarks and safety lock GRM methods become much more commonly used for identification and ownership claims as well as for bio-containment
One or both of these techniques are also used in multicellular species undergoing genetic modification in this time frame
Legal requirements for markers and controls are proposed to better manage the spread of genetically modified organisms
Proponents of better biocontainment of GMOs and of registries of modified species support the use watermarks and signatures

7. TEN-YEAR SCENARIO
In 2025, genetic watermarks and safety locks are in common use and even required in some jurisdictions. Although the improved safety of genetically engineered materials is heavily emphasized by biotech companies, many bioscientists acknowledge the value of GRM as a means of controlling intellectual property. The application of GRM practices to multicellular—or even human—subjects is hotly contested, especially as GRM focuses increasingly on restricting reproduction. Recipients of genetic therapy and users of genetically modified organisms see greater restrictions on what can be done with modified genes, and in some cases, even simple reproduction is prohibited by so-called bio-piracy laws.