Patent applications on plants derived from conventional breeding
2016
New industry strategy for acquiring patents on plants derived from conventional
breeding
Christoph Then and Ruth Tippe, April 2017
Content
1. Overview and conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
1.1 The legal provisions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………2
1.2 New strategies in patent applications…………………………………………………………………………………2
1.3 Current EPO practice……………………………………………………………………………………………………….3
1.4 How can the increasing monopolisation of seed and food production be stopped?…………………..3
2. Overview of patent applications………………………………………………………………………………………….4
2.1 How many patents were there on conventional breeding?…………………………………………………….4
2.2 Who is filing these patents?………………………………………………………………………………………………5
2.3 What is being claimed as an ‚invention‘?…………………………………………………………………………….5
2.4 Will further patents on conventional breeding be granted?……………………………………………………6
3. Some examples…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7
3.1 Screening of existing plant populations……………………………………………………………………………..7
3.2 Random mutations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
3.3 The masking of essentially biological processes………………………………………………………………….9
3.4 Propagation without sexual crossing………………………………………………………………………………….9
4. Some more legal and political background…………………………………………………………………………10
4.1 The provisions of the EPO………………………………………………………………………………………………10
4.2 The institutions of the European Patent Organisation…………………………………………………………11
4.3 The EU Patent Directive 98/44………………………………………………………………………………………..12
5. Demands………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
1. Overview and conclusions
This overview was compiled to present in-depth information on current patent applications in plant
breeding. The research for this project was carried out amid ongoing controversy regarding patents
on plants and animals. Currently, many civil society organisations, traditional breeders and farmers’
organisations are demanding a stop to patents on plants and animals as well as on breeding material
used in, or derived from, conventional breeding. These demands are supported by relevant EU
institutions i.e. the EU Parliament, the EU Commission and the EU Council. At the same time, the
EU is urging the European Patent Office (EPO) to move towards adopting a new legally binding
interpretation of the European Patent Convention (EPC).