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Seed science in the 21st century: rights that scientists have to deal with

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2012

Niels Louwaars
Niels Louwaars*
Affiliation:
Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen UR, PO Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands Department of Law and Governance, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
*Correspondence Email: niels.louwaars@wur.nl
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Abstract

Seed researchers, like anybody else working with materials containing genes, have to deal with a variety of rules. Their ‘freedom to operate’ does not only depend on intellectual property rights but also on various rights arising from biodiversity policies and possibly traditional knowledge. The most relevant are, however, patents on both materials and biotechnologies. It is in this field that recent developments indicate that the pendulum of ever-increasing levels of rights has started to swing back a little. This is due to recent court cases both in the USA and Europe, and emerging political debates in various countries. After describing the general policy arena involving national sovereign rights, private rights and ‘group-rights’ we focus on recent trends in the patent system. Seed scientists hardly even had to deal with such rights in the past, but in the 21st century they need to be aware of their implications.

Keywords

biodiversity rightsgenetic resourcesintellectual property rightspoliciesseeds
Type
Review Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 22 , Supplement S1: Seed Science in the 21st Century , February 2012 , pp. S9 - S14
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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