The aim of the paper is to discuss how the concept of commons can beenlarged to include genetic resources – both naturally occurring and as essentialresources in research laboratories – that are increasingly considered as part ofmarket frameworks. Looking beyond the enclosure of traditional public goods(such as land or water), the paper emphasizes the debate around the progressivecommodification of genetic resources and associated genetic informationoperated by means of intellectual property rights or other forms of management ofknowledge. The discourse around commons is used to evaluate alternative toolsand strategies to the issue of private appropriation of human genetic resources andnatural compounds.