(November 2021)
European patent laws prohibit patents on animal varieties and conventional breeding. Nevertheless, in order to circumvent these prohibitions, companies often, amongst others, file patents claiming feed for cows, pigs, poultry or fish as their ‘invention’. Other patent applications target, e.g. the selection of animals or the biological material needed for further breeding. Such patent monopolies can also cover food products such as meat and milk derived from the animals.
