Queensland, Australia
November 15, 2007
A team of
University of Queensland
researchers is examining a new trend of patenting plant
innovations and determining its value to the Australian
horticulture industry.
Professor Brad Sherman, from the
Australian Centre for
Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA), within the
TC Beirne School of Law,
will lead a team of researchers comparing the use of patents in
plant breeding with the protections offered by
the Plant Breeder's Rights Act.
The team's research aims to determine the best method to protect
a plant innovation. They will also explore the potential impact
of plant patents on the Australian horticulture industry.
Funded by Horticulture
Australia Limited (HAL), the project derives from feedback
received from ACIPA's first project with HAL entitled Maximising
the Benefits of Intellectual Property for the Australian
Horticultural Industry. The outcomes of this project
indicated a desire for greater understanding of the role of
patents in protecting plant innovations.
Traditionally in Australia, plant breeders have been protected
under the Plant Breeder's Rights Act but a recent trend in other
countries (in particular, North America and European countries)
to patent plant innovations has produced both negative and
positive effects for the Australian horticulture industry.
Project team member, Stephen Hubicki, said his team sought to
identify the possible consequences of an increasing use of
patents for the Australian horticulture industry.
In contrast to plant breeder's rights, patents have to date had
relatively little direct impact upon Australian rural
industries, he said.
A shift towards greater use of patents to protect plant and
animal innovations has the potential to have a much greater
impact upon farming communities than plant breeder's rights have
to date.
In addition, HAL has granted a further $410,557 for ACIPA to
develop a series of education and training programs that will be
delivered to the Australian horticulture industry and to HAL
staff and Board Members to build on the outcomes of the first
HAL project.
The project will be run over two-and-a-half years and aims to:
- optimise commercial
outcomes by improving understanding among growers of their
rights, responsibilities and obligations in relation to IP,
especially to plant breeder's rights and trademarks;
- maximise the commercial
potential of R&D outcomes by improving the understanding
among HAL researchers of the purpose, value and operational
management of IP;
- increase understanding
within horticulture industries in Australia of the role that
IP plays in the commercialisation and adoption of R&D; and
- assist HAL in achieving
its Strategic Plan and Annual Operating Plan by increasing
its ability to manage its IP investments and assets.
HAL works in partnership with the
horticulture sector on strategic planning and developing and
managing programs that address both the current and future needs
of the industry. |
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