A number of major companies in the European seed sector have urged the European Commission to allow patent laws and intellectual property rights in agriculture and horticulture after all. The seed developers believe they should be able to claim ownership rights over plant and vegetable varieties developed by them.
Traditional plant breeding, such as crossbreeding, is not covered by European patent law, the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich definitively decided in May, after years of legal uncertainty regarding the patenting of biological plant material.
The European Parliament has long protested against this, and a final decision is expected this autumn. In September, the European Parliament adopted a resolution against granting patents on plants because it feared that one or more multinationals would thereby obtain a monopoly on plant breeding. This could lead to higher food prices.
In 2015, the EPO granted two patents, for a paprika and a broccoli variety. After intervention from Brussels, the agency decided in 2017 to stop granting patents. There is concern that legally securing 'ownership rights' on genetically modified 'natural' material could ultimately have a negative impact on small and medium-sized farmers.
IP rights (Intellectual Property) include patents, copyrights, and trademarks, and are intended to enable companies to protect their inventions and creations to better compete worldwide.
Patent applications recognized before July 2017 remain valid. Applications filed before July 1 can still be recognized. According to the Patent Office, a year ago there were still 250 applications (plus 19 objections), but it is unclear if all of these were submitted before the summer of 2017. Applications filed after July 1, 2017, are rejected by the Patent Office.
The European Commission endorses the importance of these rights and states that the EU must better protect intellectual property rights. Seed and plant developers from Euroseeds say that effective plant breeding is essential for improving sustainable agricultural and horticultural products. It added that the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies "will not achieve their goals without plant breeding."