Mon, 13 Oct 2008

Campaign to stop patent grab on conventional seeds

MUNICH (NNA) – A global campaign to stop an “alarming new trend” for patents to be allowed on conventional plants is stepping up its action in advance of an appeal to be considered by the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich.

The Enlarged Board of Appeal, the highest appeal body of the EPO, is due to consider appeals against patents granted on conventional broccoli and tomato species and its binding landmark ruling is expected to determine the patentability of conventional seeds in Europe.

The “no patents on seeds” campaign, initiated by Greenpeace, the Norwegian Utviklingsfondet development fund, the Swiss organisations Swissaid and Berne Declaration, the German Kein Patent auf Leben and the Catholic aid organisation Misereor, is already supported by many established environmental, development, farming and organic agriculture organisations from around the world, including Demeter and the Foundation on Future Farming.

The campaign says that the patenting of conventional seeds is in contradiction specifically of the prohibition of patents on “essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals” contained in the European Patent Convention.

Now, in the latest stage of its campaign “no patents on seeds” has sent an email with a specimen letter to its supporters calling for such letters to be sent to the European Patent Office before the end of October to express concern about the implications of the patents which have been granted on broccoli and tomatoes.

The campaign says that not only would patents on conventional seeds such as the ones on the broccoli and tomato species under appeal fuel the emerging crisis in world food hunger by raising prices in international markets, thus adding additional bottlenecks in food supply, but they also open the road to biopiracy.

In the original appeal, a joint Open Letter addressed to the “Enlarged Board of Appeal, Government Representatives, The Executive Boards of Agrobusiness Companies”, the campaign says that “this frightening new trend in patent policy will affect many more farmers and breeders, than has been the case with GMO [genetically modified organism] patents. Any remaining farmers rights and breeders' access to plant varieties and animal breeds for breeding purposes, will disappear everywhere.

“These patents will destroy a system of farmers' rights and breeders' privileges that has been shown to be crucial for the survival of farmers and breeders, for food sovereignty, and for the preservation of biodiversity in agriculture.

“The vast majority of farmers in developing countries are small-scale farmers, completely reliant on saving and exchanging their seeds.”

And the appeal concludes: “In order to secure the continued existence of independent farming, breeding and livestock keeping and hence the food security of future generations, we, the undersigned farmers, researchers, breeders and civil society organisations from all over the world, restate our rejection of any patents on life, and urge policy makers and patent offices to act swiftly to stop any patents being granted on conventionally bred plants and animals and on gene sequences for use with conventional breeding technique, as well as on methods for the conventional breeding of plants and animals. We also urge companies not to apply for any patents of this kind.”

END/nna/cva

Link: www.no-patents-on-seeds.org

Item: 081013-01EN Date: 13 October 2008

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