The Foundations, Continuing Evolution, and Outcomes from the Application of Intellectual Property Protection in Plant Breeding and Agriculture

Evaluation of technical production in agricultural sciences: a new certification scheme in Uruguay

“…Horton and Mackay (14) propose a classification according to the different stages of the research process (Figure 1). These include needs diagnosis (stage 1), priority setting through strategic planning (2), evaluation of research proposals (3), research monitoring (4), evaluation of final project reports (5), evaluation of research outputs (6), and impact or adoption (7). The authors also propose two related evaluation activities: an eighth stage of institutional evaluation, in which the result is seen in a broader context, as well as a ninth stage of evaluation of the individual performance of researchers (9)(14) .…”

“…The evaluation of technological production, on the other hand, is more heterogeneous and there is less international standardization of procedures. At the global level, patents are the most common indicator, and for agronomic research, the registration of plant varieties based on UPOV standards (5)(6) (7) should also be mentioned. However, not all technological products generated by agronomic research institutes may be patented or registered.…”

The Future of Essentially Derived Variety (EDV) Status: Predominantly More Explanations or Essential Change

“…Nonetheless, the UPOV system has been criticized, particularly in respect of its open-source nature resulting from the breeder exception clause [34]. Unlike most other countries, and unlike all others regarding regular implementation, the U.S. does include a variety per se as eligible subject matter for a grant of Utility Patents [1].…”

“…The capacity of research and product development in plant breeding is associated with interactions between the stage of technological development and resultant accumulation of knowledge, which together can enable progress in genetic gain thereby contributing to more productive crop production. The ability to obtain protection of newly developed plant varieties as intellectual property (IP) can encourage investments into plant breeding [1]. The most globally used form of IP to support the development of new plant varieties is a sui generis, or specially developed approach to IP known as Plant Variety Protection (PVP) or Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR).…”

“…This balance was achieved by the extension to developers of an initial variety (iv) from crossing and selection to the rights to commercialize a progeny variety that was deemed to be essentially derived from that iv, and thus to be an Essentially Derived Variety (EDV). Further details on the EDV concept have been provided, including [1,30,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52].…”