New Genomic Techniques and Intellectual Property Law: Challenges and Solutions for the Plant Breeding Sector

Abstract

On 5 July 2023, the European Commission issued a proposal for the regulation that intends to relax the requirements for marketing authorisation of plants obtained by certain new genomic techniques (NGTs) in the EU. While NGTs are expected to become more appealing to breeders and farmers, the complexity of the intellectual property (IP) landscape surrounding such techniques and resulting products can have a discouraging effect on innovation. In view of numerous concerns related to IP protection for NGTs and NGT-derived plants, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition has published a Position Statement with a set of policy recommendations that can facilitate access to and utilisation of IP-protected NGTs in the breeding sector.

Keywords: CRISPR; genome editing; intellectual property; patents; plant varieties