Abstract
This chapter aims at making the reader familiar with the object of study and structure of the book. To this purpose, it briefly illustrates the importance of plant breeding for society and it points to the role of intellectual property rights in plant variety production as well as the importance of legal and economic aspects in analyzing the topic.
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Notes
- 1.
For an understanding see the website of ISF (International Seed Federation), http://www.worldseed.org/isf/what_we_do.html, accessed 21 December 2014. Acquaah (2012), pp. 1–40 and Schlegel (2007), pp. 5–42.
- 2.
Please, note that the data do not include all type of commercialized varieties of seed. See in particular the data related to national imports and exports. ISF, http://www.worldseed.org/isf/seed_statistics.html, accessed 21 December 2014.
- 3.
For detailed figures see FAO, IFAD and WFP (2014), pp. 8–12.
- 4.
Ibidem, pp. 14–20.
- 5.
See Chap. 3 for more explanations.
- 6.
- 7.
For more explanations on IPRs applicable to plant varieties, please see Chap. 4.
- 8.
For an understanding see Merges (2011).
- 9.
For Germany see section 11.2.b of the Patent Act adopted in 2005; For France, article L. 613-5-3 of the Code de la Propriété Intellectuelle adopted in 2004, and for Switzerland, Article 9 (e) of the Federal Act on Patents for Inventions, adopted in 2008. The Netherlands adopted the same exception in 2013 which entered into force in 2014. See Article 53.2.b of the Dutch Patent Act. This exception has also been included in article 27.c) of the recent Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (AUPC), (2013/C 175/01). Note that 13 ratifications including Germany, France, and United Kingdom are required for the Agreement to enter into force. As per now, only six countries have ratified it: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/agreements-conventions/agreement/?aid=2013001, accessed 20 May 2015.
- 10.
Trojan (2012). Based on Trojan’s report, this exception will be often termed as ‘breeding exception’ in the following pages.
- 11.
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, April 15, 1994, Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, Annex 1C, The Legal Texts: The Results of The Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations 320 (1999), 1869 U.N.T.S. 299, 33 I.L.M. 1197 (1994) (hereinafter TRIPS Agreement).
- 12.
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, Paris, 2 December 1961, as revised at Geneva on 10 November 1972, 23 October 1978, and 19 March 1991 (Geneva: UPOV. UPOV Doc. 221 (E), 1996).
- 13.
WT/DS/114R.
- 14.
See Annex for a list of the interviewees.
- 15.
References
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Campi, M. (2014). Protecting plants, incentives to innovate and access to biological resources. A historical overview (pp. 4–6). Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna: LEM. Available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2478312. Accessed 22 Dec 2014.
FAO, IFAD, & WFP. (2014). The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014. Strengthening the enabling environment for food security and nutrition. FAO: Rome.
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Prifti, V. (2015). Introduction. In: The Breeder's Exception to Patent Rights. International Law and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15771-9_1
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