Work in Parliament Patentability of plants and essential biological processes

Explanations of Vote | 19-09-2019

Parliament has fought a lot in recent years against patenting the biological processes that aim at creating new varieties of plants. This common resolution points at asking the European Patent Office to change the attitude towards natural breeding processes, as for farmers this is a fundamental way to create new markets, fight against diseases and create more possibilities for food sustainability. Small farmers, more than others, would suffer the most from allowing the EPO to patent also these bio-processes. While property rights remain a solid element for EU competitiveness, this could become a barrier in terms of competition. We do not need monopolies that risk increasing the price of food all over Europe. On the contrary, we need curiosity-driven research and a good dose of applied innovation, brought together by the visionary minds and hard work of European farmers.

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