Journal
DSI: dematerialised biopiracy
Journal
Patents on life: medicine and “disruptive technologies”
Journal
Towards the seizing of the processes that are the core of life on Earth
Patents on living organisms: abusive fortresses
Patents on genetic sequences: excess and fragility
Austria attempts to clarify the patentability of living matter
On 20 May 2023, the new Austrian Patent Act came into force. It specifies the exclusions from patentability in the field of plants and animals. One of the aims of these changes is to guarantee a degree of independence for breeders from patent right holders. What will happen in fine?
France – An advisory body leaves the door open to GMO deregulation
Some seed companies are opposing patents but…
Brazil: Endgame for Bayer’s GMO soybean patent?
EPO : new GMOs can be differentiated
According to companies, GMO products of genetic modification techniques are patentable because they are considered “inventions”. But to obtain these patents, the European Patent Office (EPO) require from the applicants to be clear about the techniques used for obtaining the organisms or genetic sequences covered by their patent. This obligation shows that, for the EPO, it is possible to differentiate, e.g. between GMOs obtained by patentable mutagenesis techniques on the one hand, and GMOs obtained by other techniques or any other organisms present in nature, on the other hand.