Breeding business: Plant breeder's rights and patent rights in the plant breeding business

This section discusses differences in the strength of Intellectual Property protection between plant breeders' rights (a form of intellectual property right developed specifically for new plant varieties) and patent rights. It presents the main findings of a report, "Breeding Business", issued in the Netherlands and which examined trends in technological developments, socio/economic developments, intellectual property protection, and policy and use of genetic resources. The analysis contained in this report suggests that access to genetic variation is so crucial for further innovation in breeding that a form of breeder’s exemption within patents rights seems both justified and necessary. Options to achieve this objective can be found at three levels: via amendments to current legislation and regulations; via the improvement of the quality of patent; and via improvement of the handling of intellectual property in the industrial sector.