A legal analysis of the recent developments in the patenting of plant varieties

Abstract

As we are all bearing witness to, the world is at a point where it depends heavily on huge amounts of food resources, one of which being foods derived from agriculture. Plant Varieties act as an instrument in humanity’s hand to better secure a greater number of food resources, develop new forms of medicine as well as enhance the qualities of a plant in ways nobody can imagine, since it largely depends upon Nature’s throw of the dice. However, there is still an element of intellectual property at play, and this is where the law steps in to provide the necessary firewall necessary to protect the expressed ideas of the inventor or breeder in question, through the form of patenting. Aside from the need for Plant Varieties to fill in the gap as a form of resource, it is also expressed as an art, where the breeder creates new forms of plants and stands to profit off of the new variety. Plant Varieties as entire organisms are not the only things which are protected however, as this thesis will explain, a singular isolated genetic DNA sequence can also be subject to protection, as this is considered to be a form of Biotechnology. This work shall also tackle what is known as ‘Breeder’s Rights’, which are a distinct set of rights for breeders, frequently a topic of controversy as it is viewed as an extra layer of protection on top of patenting.