dear all,

Thanks to all of you for quick reactions yesterday and to Johanna to send everything out in time!

So what are the next steps?

> We have to move the political decision makers to exclude all breeding methods and products used within conventional breeding

> the strategy can be changes in national patent laws or decisions via the Admin Council. Or both.

> if we miss the momentum of the meeting of the AC in June, we might loose the most relevant opportunity.

What does that mean for our work?

1. we need a wording to show how the problem can be solved; this should brought forward to all relevant political decision makers asap.
   
2. we need a strong justification to show the issue is urgent
3. We have to identify some allies for this decisive period (Plantum?)
   

Next steps:

We draft a letter to the AC with possible solutions to be sent next week.

Then we approach selected governments.

In parallel we work on a new factsheet: we again will show the problem with rule 28 (2) and the interpretation by the EPO. I will try to work with Ruth. I think we will need a factsheet with some cases from examination processes. Interesting (!): We might have lost the Carlsberg case by the decision of the EBoA - the patent application was filed before July 2017. I guess the same problem arises for severed broccoli and the lettuce and the pepper. 

The text for solutions: we have to make a proposal in writing how a text may look like that can be adapted by the AC or national laws.

How about a phrases like that (I try to avoid the word 'conventional breeding' which may take us some time to define):

"For the interpretation of rule 28 (2), the AC shall adopt the following:

• Spontaneous, random, non targeted processes such as physico-chemical mutagenesis cannot escape rule 28 (2). Only  targeted interventions such as transgenesis and genome editing may give rise to patentable inventions.
  
• All products used in or emanating from ‘essentially biological processes’ are captured by rule 28 (2), including all breeding material plant/animal parts, cells and genetic information.
• Patents on products derived from technical process in breeding do not extent plant or animals that fall under rule 28(2)."