https://www.politico.eu/article/super-crops-eu-ready-for-new-generation-of-gene-edited-plants-gmo/

lg

axel

Von: Npos_2018 <npos_2018-bounces@testbiotech.de> Im Auftrag von Christoph Then
Gesendet: Dienstag, 4. Juli 2023 09:04
An: npos_2018@testbiotech.de
Betreff: [Npos_2018] the letter and our report in politico

DRIVING THE DAY

THE BIG PATENT CONUNDRUM: A new EU law on crops produced using “new genomic techniques” (NGTs), to be unveiled tomorrow, has pitted Big Agri interests against environmentalists and small farmers, who say the rules will further tighten the grip of a handful of multinational corporations by allowing them to claim patents on crops that could have been obtained through conventional breeding methods.

But first: Before we move on to the patent dilemma, it seems that the draft law we reported on here is still going through some final tweaks. An earlier version would have brought NGT crops engineered to tolerate herbicide spraying under the EU’s stricter GMO rules. But a more recent draft, previewed by Brussels Playbook's Jakob Hanke Vela, no longer makes this distinction.

Back to patents: Multinationals like Bayer, Syngenta or Corteva, make a lot of money from selling or licensing their patented products. Most of Bayer’s global profits from glyphosate, for example, come not from the sale of the weedkiller itself, of which there are now countless generic varieties, but from proprietary herbicide-resistant seeds.

Seed money: In the EU, plants used for food production can't be patented — unless they've been genetically engineered. Environmental groups warn that conventional crops will fall victim to the forthcoming rules, as companies will be able to claim that their seemingly conventional seeds are not conventional at all because their traits were obtained with the help of NGTs. Several patents making this claim are already pending, according to a recent NGO analysis.

Minefield: This, in turn, would make it much harder for small and traditional breeders to use existing plant varieties without risking patent infringement, the environmental groups say.

Industry view: For their part, the big NGT players have said they will seek a balanced approach that allows smaller competitors to license their technology at a fair price through industry-run platforms, such as the Agricultural Crop Licensing Platform launched earlier this year.

But but but: The multinationals won’t abandon the application of intellectual property (IP) rights on NGT crops altogether. Matthias Berninger, head of public affairs at Bayer's sustainability division, told me that this is the only way to generate value from their investment.

No shit, Sherlock: "Why are we still for IP? Because our investors will give us the middle finger if we tell them we want two and a half billion of your money every year, but there is no IP to protect the kind of innovation that comes out of it," he said. Stay tuned for more from my interview with Berninger.

We hear ya, but: The European Commission has repeatedly acknowledged that the new rules could aggravate the patent problem — but has insisted that this can’t be addressed within the scope of the NGT regulation because patents are governed by a separate piece of legislation. The EU executive has said it will try to address the issue at a later stage.

Putting the cart before the horse: Environmental groups aren’t convinced, questioning why Brussels is rushing to meet industry demands without properly assessing the costs of sowing unregulated NGT crops on farmers’ fields.