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Patents on “new genomic technologies” (NGTs) cover all areas of life, from fundamental research to its applications. The ownership of these patents is shared between the public and private sectors. For the industry, the profit potential of NGTs is considerable, and patents are the major guarantors of this. Crispr-Cas 9, the subject of the main […]

Developments in biotechnology over the last twenty years have been spectacular, as have those in other high-tech areas such as information science and nanotechnology. In all these fields, intellectual property issues are crucial to the development of what is essentially a scientific and technical activity. The particularity of biotechnology is that it involves living organisms […]

On 20 March 2024, the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) celebrated a victoryi : the failure of the European Commission to push through its plan to deregulate GMOs/NGTs, in particular because the issue of patents blocked discussions between governments. The Commission justified – and still justifies – its proposal for deregulation on the grounds that […]

The 1998 court case between the Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser and Monsanto paved the way for other legal actions in the United States and Europe. Today, farmers, plant breeders and peasants – the “small farmers” – are more than ever at the mercy of legal action by the industry and its patents. A historic dispute […]

In Europe, patents on living organisms are regulated by the European Patent Convention (EPC), which governs the European Patent Office (EPO), and the European Union (EU) Directive 98/44 on ‘biotechnological inventions’. In June 2023, the EU also adopted its own legislation on unitary patents, which applies to all fields of technology. The patentability of ‘new […]

Originally introduced as a new scientific concept, a semantic UFO has recently come to dominate all debates on seeds, biodiversity and intellectual property. Some call it DSI (Digital Sequence Information), while others call it GSD (Genetic Sequence Data). A flying object because it circulates freely in the cyberspace in the form of virtual signals picked […]

In a dossier entitled “Micro and nano technologies for healthcare” published by CEA-Leti2 , we can read: “the emergence of disruptive technologies is transforming the pharmaceutical industry“. These so-called “disruptive” technologies are mainly the result of NBIC convergence – nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science(s) – in a cross-fertilization dynamic that has been underway […]

The various articles have highlighted the complexity of intellectual property on plants, its instability, its contradictions, its past and potential developments, and challenges. One thing is certain, however: since 1980, the field of patents on living organisms has expanded and deepened considerably. It now covers all living organisms, including the human species (see p.16). Subject […]

In a previous article, Inf’OGM explained that the scope of patent claims on living organisms can be too broad, artificial and complex [1]. Yet the agro-industry uses such patents as a legal weapon to threaten and prosecute various forms of competition. In general, companies use their patent rights to oppose “horizontal competitors” (other companies) in order, […]