Plant Variety Rights Versus Plant Patents: Legal Developments and Frictions in a Regional Perspective

摘要

New gene-editing technologies can help to overcome challenges in sustainable food supply. These biotechnologies enable agricultural professionals to meet an ever-growing demand for food. However, understanding of their impact is incomplete, the data required for risk assessment is only partially available and there are ethical and societal concerns. Legal systems vary between prohibition, case-to-case product risk analysis and systems based on a precautionary principle. In addition, the impact of recent mega-mergers in the agrochemical market prompts warnings of market dominance. The mergers of Dupont-Dow in the US, ChemChina-Syngenta in China and Bayer-Monsanto in Europe look set to dominate the global agricultural, chemical, seed and genetically-modified food markets.