03.04.2012 | permalink
Today, the international coalition of “No Patents on Seeds” is publishing a report on patents connected to the conventional breeding of plants and animals granted by, or applied for at the European Patent Office in 2011. The report gives examples of patents on sunflowers, melons, cucumbers, rice and wheat. Patents were granted despite a decision of the highest court of the EPO in 2010, reaffirming the prohibition of patents on conventional breeding as written in European patent laws. As the new report shows, industry and examiners at the EPO are systematically using legal loopholes to grant patents on seeds, plants and even harvest and food products derived thereof.
