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Critical to understanding private R&D; behavior is the role of intellectual property rights. Patents, plant variety protection certificates, trade secrets and other protection instruments strongly influence R&D; decisions made in the private sector, where the majority of agricultural research is now pursued.
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Agricultural Biotechnology Intellectual Property—This database identifies and describes U.S. utility patents on inventions in biotechnology and other biological processes—with issue dates between 1976 and 2000—that are used in food and agriculture. The database also provides information about the ownership of these patents, whether patents are held in the public or private sector, and changes in patent ownership due to firm mergers, acquisitions, and spinoffs.
Plant Genetic Resources: New Rules for International Exchange—Plant genetic resources play a critical role in agricultural production, and the practice of international germplasm exchange has a long history. This article explains the growing focus on distribution of benefits from using genetic resources, and the use of intellectual property to protect new crop varieties. It describes a new international treaty that could affect the exchange of diverse germplasm needed by plant breeders to maintain and improve U.S. crops in the future. (06/03)
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updated: November 24, 2003
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