Plant breeders’ rights for new feedstocks in Canada

PLANTBREEDERS’RIGHTSFORNEWFEEDSTOCKSINCANADA
JEREMYLAWSONANDMICHEINEAYOUB*
LEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP
LAWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS
Whilepatentsremaintheprincipalformofintellectualpropertyforprotecting
technologicaladvancementsinCanada,plantbreeders’rights(PBR)canprovidean
alternativeorcomplementaryprotectionfornewplantvarieties.Speciesengineering
hasbegunonheraldedunder-researchedplantfeedstockssuchasswitchgrass,
camelinaandjatropha.
Protectingthefruitsofsuchresearchanddevelopmentlabourcouldbeachievedin
CanadathroughacombinedstrategyofpatentingandPBR.
CriteriaforPatentsVersusPlantBreeders’Rights
Avalidpatentwillbegrantedforaninventionthatisnovel,usefulandnon-obvious.
Iftheinventionwasdisclosedbytheapplicantmorethanoneyearbeforefilinga
patentapplication,thenitisconsideredunpatentableinCanadaforlackofnovelty.
ToqualifyforaPBRcertificateaplantvarietymustbenew,distinct,uniformand
stable.A“new”varietymustnothavebeensoldinCanadabeforethefilingofthe
PBRapplication,andmustnothavebeensoldabroadformorethanfouryearsorfor
morethansixyearsinthecaseofwoodyplantsandtheirrootstocks.A“distinct”
varietypossessesmeasurablydifferentcharacteristicsfromcommonlyknown
varieties.Forexample,avarietycouldbe“distinct”becauseitsseedoilcontentis
higherthananyknownvarietyofthesamespecies.Furthermore,a“uniform”variety
exhibitspredictablevariationinitscharacteristicsanda“stable”varietyhas
characteristicsthatremainunchangedoversuccessivegenerations.
SubjectMatterofPatentsVersusPlantBreeders’Rights
TheCanadianIntellectualPropertyOfficecurrentlytakesthepositionthat
multicellularorganismsarenotpatentablesubjectmatter.Itmaybepossibleto
patentnewandinventivemethodsofgeneticengineeringorindividualcellsof
multicellularorganisms,butanyclaimstoaplantitselfwillberejectedbyCIPO.The
©CIPS,2009.*OfLEGERROBICRICHARD,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmoflawyers,andpatentandtrade-marks
agents.PublishedintheJanuary2009issueofBioEnergyCanada.Publication063.008.

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PBRActallowstheexclusiverighttoaplantvarietythatisasexuallyorsexually
reproducible.However,PBRcannotbeobtainedforfungi,algaeorbacteria.
DurationandScopeofPatentsVersusPlantBreeders’Rights
Whilethetermofapatentis20yearsfromthedateoffilingapatentapplication,the
durationofPBRis18yearsfromthePBRcertificateissuedate.
Thescopeofapatentisdefinedbyitsclaimsandoftenallowsbroadcoverageofan
invention,suchasaplantcellcontaininganewchimericgenethatisapplicableto
severalplantspecies.EachPBRcertificatehowever,coversaparticularvariety
belongingtoaparticularplantspecies.ThePBRcertificateholdermayexclude
othersfromsellingtheprotectedvariety,producingitforsaleandmakingrepeated
useoftheprotectedvarietyasasteptocommerciallyproduceanothervariety.
PlantProtectionintheUnitedStates
IntheUnitedStates,breeders’rightscanbeobtainedforsexuallyreproduced(by
seed)ortuber-propagatedplants.Itisalsopossibletoobtainaso-called“plant
patent”foranasexuallyreproducedplant.TheUnitedStatesalsoallowregularutility
patentsforplants.
Giventheneedforimprovedplantfeedstocksintheenergyindustryandthe
particularitiesoftheCanadianintellectualpropertysystem,neitherpatentsnorplant
breeders’rightsshouldbeoverlookedasvaluablemeansofprotection.

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