Managing proprietary technology in agricultural research.

Abstract

AbstractSignificant events have occurred in the past decade that affect the use and exchange of genetic resources and the management of intellectual property, including the establishment of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993 and the conclusion of the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights in 1995. As a result, a growing number of developing countries are revising, or setting up their systems to protect intellectual property rights (IPRs). As members of the World Trade Organization, they are bound to introduce international standards for the protection of IPRs. At the same time, new inputs derived from biotechnology, especially those coming from the private sector, are widely used in agriculture. IPRs protect most of these inputs. However, it is not only the commercial sector that is using and developing materials for which intellectual property protection is being sought. The development and use of protected materials is also occurring among public, national, and international agricultural research organizations working for and with developing countries. International agricultural research, including the centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the national agricultural research organizations of developing countries, is affected by these trends. This chapter presents insights from studies on proprietary biotechnology inputs that are used by national and international agricultural research organizations. It reviews the most important findings derived from these inventories. It documents the difficult and often confusing situation that public research institutes face regarding the use and dissemination of products resulting from proprietary science where others hold rights.