Breeders
Identifying Legal Challenges for Farmers’ Innovation
By Saurav Ghimire
On 9 October 2023, an expert workshop on “Identifying Legal Challenges for Farmers’ Innovation” was organised at the Centre for Private and Economic Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, in collaboration with the South Centre and Université Catholique de Louvain. The hybrid event gathered experts to discuss the challenges for farmers’ innovation, particularly those emerging from regulatory regimes. The workshop brainstormed policy and regulatory hindrances to farmers’ involvement in plant breeding, namely, in access to breeding materials, access to the market and reward/protection for the innovation.
The expert workshop was organised as a part of a joint research project, “Farmers as Plant Breeders: Legal Mechanisms to Foster Farmers’ Innovation”, led by Prof. Christine Frison (Université Catholique de Louvain), Prof. Kim Van der Borght (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), and Prof. Carlos Correa (South Centre). The research project is funded by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).
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Expert Workshop on “Identifying Legal Challenges for Farmers’ Innovation”
Co-organized by the South Centre and the Université Catholique de Louvain
9 October 2023
Ixelles, Belgium
Venue: Centre for Private and Economic Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
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Farmers, Seeds & the Laws: Importing the Chilling Effect Doctrine
By Saurav Ghimire
As an increasing number of countries are formulating Plant Variety Protection (PVP) laws, a growing number of farmers are affected by plant breeders’ rights. In addition, the seed certification law also affects farmers’ relations with seeds. Discussing the farmers’ interaction with the PVP law and seed certification law in Indonesia, this article establishes that the farmers have internalised the law beyond the scope of the legal text, such that they self-limit breeding, saving, and exchanging of seeds even in legally permissible situations. Based on the chilling effect doctrine, this article argues that the related laws should be relaxed to ensure that they do not over deter farmers from exercising their rights. This article calls for both negative and positive state obligations to address the chilling effect on farmers arising from both state and private actors.
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Patenting of Plants and Exceptions to Exclusive Rights
Side Event to the WIPO Standing Committee on Patents
6 December 2021, 16:00 – 17:30 CET
Recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkBwputXH9k
Biotechnology has increased the use of patent law to protect the outcomes of plant breeding.
While the WTO TRIPS Agreement allows countries to exclude the patentability of plants and essentially biological processes to obtain them, many developing countries are granting patents on plants and plant components, such as seeds, cells, and genes. These patents can limit access to plant materials for further research and breeding and prevent farmers from saving and re-using seeds that incorporate patented materials.
European legislation has sought to strike a balance between the protection of plant-related inventions and the rights of breeders and farmers through the introduction of specific exceptions to patent rights.
Join us for a discussion of a study on European legislation and case law and lessons that can be drawn for developing countries.
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Patenting of Plants and Exceptions to Exclusive Rights: Lessons from European Law
Biotechnology has increased the use of patent law to protect the outcomes of plant breeding. While the TRIPS Agreement allows countries to exclude the patentability of plants and essentially biological processes to obtain them, many developing countries are granting patents on plants and plant components, such as seeds, cells, and genes. These patents can limit access to plant materials for further research and breeding and prevent farmers from saving and re-using seeds that incorporate patented materials. This study shows how European legislation has sought to strike a balance between the protection of plant-related inventions and the rights of breeders and farmers through the introduction of specific exceptions to patent rights and discusses what lessons can be drawn for developing countries.
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South Centre Contribution in response to UPOV Circular E-20/246
The South Centre, as an intergovernmental observer to the UPOV Council, submits this contribution on views on the implementation of the exception of acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes in relation to smallholder farmers. The South Centre appreciates this opportunity to inform the possible development of guidance regarding the implementation of the exception of acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes in relation to smallholder farmers.
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