2. Variety of legal rules: from research to technical-industrial development

Until recently, the law was silent on the conduct of scientific research, with researchers enjoying freedom of thought and implicit recognition of the eminently profitable nature of scientific discoveries. The industrialist, developing and marketing a new product, was in a different position, as regulations designed to protect the population from health risks gradually imposed numerous constraints. Today, the rules governing scientific research are manifold: the principle of freedom of research has been given legal force, but this freedom has also been regulated (§ 2.1 ). As for the rules designed to limit...