Description
Key Takeaways from the report:
- PVP and patents serve different purposes: Plant Variety Protection (PVP) protects entire plant varieties; patents protect individual traits such as those developed through NGTs, which are not covered by PVPs. They are complementary tools used according to the type of innovation. An intellectual property (IP) framework that encourages innovation needs both PVPs and patents to work together.
- Patentability criteria are applied strictly by the European Patent Office: In the EU, only about 30% of patent applications for NGT-related inventions are granted, compared to 60% across all technical fields. Strict requirements for criteria such as novelty, inventiveness and disclosure inevitably mean that patent protection is only granted when significant inventions are made, in a procedure that takes on average 7 to 8 years to be completed.
- Patent ownership is broad and diverse: 28% of patent applications relevant to NGT plants in Europe were shown to come from academic and research institutions. Over 570 applicants are active, of which 364 are academic and research institutions, showing a competitive and diverse innovation landscape.
- Breeding and access to innovation are not hampered: Several EU countries have introduced a breeder’s exemption into patent law, which allows any breeder to use a commercial variety containing a patented trait in its own breeding programme for the purpose of creating a new variety. The implementation of such a breeder’s exemption by all EU Member States in their patent laws should be supported. Furthermore, industry licensing platforms (ACLP, ILP) facilitate access to patented material. The majority of seed companies in Europe have committed to license out their patented traits under fair conditions to any breeder asking for it through licensing platforms.
- An open database supports transparency: To make informed decisions about which varieties to use under the breeder’s exemption, the voluntary database PINTO is available to disclose which commercial varieties contain a patented trait. CLE supports that such information becomes mandatory, e.g. in the Common catalogue of varieties.
- Seed saving rights are maintained: In the EU, farmers growing fodder plants, oilseeds, cereals or potatoes retain the right to save and reuse seeds, even when those varieties contain patented traits. Small farmers do it freely, while other producers must pay a financial compensation to the PVP or patent right holder.