Current interpretation of patent law is insufficient to stop patents on conventional breeding
July 2023
This report provides an overview of granted patents and patent applications with claims covering conventional plant breeding in Europe. The past decade has seen a growing number of patent applications filed for conventionally-bred plants used in food production. These include broccoli, tomatoes, melons, spinach, lettuce, maize, wheat and barley. It is mostly international companies from the agrochemical sector that are filing these patents, e. g. Bayer, BASF, Syngenta and Corteva, but also some traditional breeders such as Rijk Zwaan and KWS.
