Professor Jacob Sherkow has co-authored a new paper with Laura Valtere (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) and Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) titled “Intellectual Property, New Genomic Technologies And Plant Innovation: Clearing Innovation Pathways.” The abstract follows:
New genomic technologies (NGTs), such as genome editing-the modification of DNA in living cells-promises to revolutionize agriculture. Beyond simply yielding new, commercially viable crop varieties, NGTs also hold out promise of using novel crops as a “biosolution”-methods to improve sustainability practices by reducing pesticide usage, improving drought tolerance, increasing yield, and minimizing food and fertilizer waste. At the same time, the complex global system of intellectual property (IP) protection for crops has largely been unchanged for decades. There is accordingly some concern that the current crop IP system will not bring the promise of agricultural biosolutions to fruition. This Article reviews NGTs as biosolution and explores how they fit into the current international IP system for crops. Against this backdrop, this Article also reviews several current proposals to crop IP regime, before tentatively suggesting recommendations for rebalancing the incentive structures in crop IP.