Bio-Patents - a Useful Complement to Plant Variety Protection
Modern plant breeding works with many biotechnological methods. Plant breeders continuously develop new breeding techniques and make inventions. Examples for such inventions could be e.g. genes that have been isolated from naturally occurring organisms and describing their function. Inventions are usually not applicable only to one particular variety, but to many varieties Classic plant variety protection is not applicable in such a case, and this is where patent protection is needed. Plant breeders, however, are watchful to prevent patent protection from undermining plant variety protection. The transposition of the Biopatents Directive of the European Union into German patent law has created an effective legislative tool. It provides e.g. for the possibility of using farm saved seed of patent-protected plant material. In addition, the research exemption has been extended so as to allow that patent-protected plants are used for plant breeding without the need for prior consent of the patent holder. The patent offices are responsible for the careful examination of the submitted patent applications in order to prevent excessive patent rights protection. Patents may only be granted if the patentability criteria have been fulfilled. The
Gesellschaft für den Erwerb und die Verwertung von Schutzrechten GVS assists the members of the German Plant Breeders Association in all questions concerning intellectual property rights protection.
