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Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture (2000) / Chapter Skim
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Intellectual Property
Pages 29-34

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From page 29...
... As in other areas of biotechnology, intellectual property rights are likely to play an important role in securing economic returns for the intellectual and financial investments that make the research and developments possible. An important consideration regarding such intellectual property rights in inventions and discoveries resulting from genomic research and from other applica.
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From page 30...
... Intellectual property rights should be narrowly tailored to be commensurate with the actual scope of new inventions and discoveries so as not to impede continuing research, innovation and development. For the above reasons, it is important to consider the impact of intellectual property rights on developing countries.
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From page 31...
... To help compensate, public-sector research by farmers, the CGIAR, and by national agricultural research systems needs to be strengthened and provided with increased resources and attention both from governments and from the world's agricultural scientists. In addition, intellectual property rights should be obtained by these public-sector institutions for their discoveries so that these rights can be used in negotiations with the private sector to produce increased public benefit.
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From page 32...
... Over the long term, the most significant form of intellectual property protection for seeds may prove to be technological. A specific example of this that has been the source of much controversy is a patent application for an invention whereby traits in transgenic plants would be expressed only if a certain chemical activator was applied to seeds or plant (genetic use restriction technology, GURT)
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From page 33...
... GURTs potentially have beneficial applications for consumers, growers, and the environment that should not be overlooked in debates over intellectual property rights. For example, GURTs could be used to prevent transgenes from spreading to closely related wild plants by preventing germination of any 33
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From page 34...
... research institutions should establish partnerships among industrialized and developing countries so that the benefits of GM research, applications and licensing will become much more widely available; and (v) an international advisory committee should be created to assess the interests of private companies and developing countries in the generation and use of transkenic plants to benefit the poor not only to help resolve the intellectual property issues involved, but also to identify areas of common interest and opportunity between private sector and public sector institutions.
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Key Terms

  • plant seeds
  • developing world
  • biological diversity
  • transgenic plant
  • plant embryo

  • broad intellectual
  • plant varieties
  • pro bono
  • private companies
  • industrialized nations

  • issues involved
  • varieties free
  • ensure financial
  • seed companies
  • increasing populations

  • public sector
  • chemical activators
  • save seed
  • developed nations
  • property protection

  • charitable grants
  • economic returns
  • agricultural production
  • property regimes
  • increased public

  • actual realization
  • purchase transgenic
  • developing counties
  • increasing privatization
  • financial return


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