patents

19 July 2010: No Patents on Seeds Conference

On Monday July 19th the international Conference  "Patents on Seeds - The Turning Point" will take place in Munich, Germany [1]. Researchers and representatives from farmers and civil organisations  will discuss current trends regarding patents on seeds and animals, highlighting the negative impacts of the current system, the changes that would be needed and possibilities for effecting those changes. The conference is initiated by the European coalition No Patents on Seeds, which consists of NGO's that have united to call a halt to the ever expanding privatisation of life. On Tuesday July 20th No Patents on Seeds ha organised a large manifestation at the European Patent Office. Lees meer...  

Stop het EU Eenheidsoctrooi op gewassen

ASEED zet zich in voor vrij-beschikbare zaden voor boeren en tuinders en is in het geheel tegen patenten op gewassen. Hierbij promoten we vooral alternatieve netwerken om de agro-diversiteit buiten de grote zaadbedrijven om in stand te houden. Maar we stellen het zeer op prijs dat er andere organisatie zijn die de ontwikkelingen van de Europese regelgeving tot in detail volgen. Hieronder vind je een persbericht van No Patents on Seeds over het buitenspel zetten van het Europese Hof van Justitie bij patentzaken en het afzwakken van het kwekersrecht. Ook lijken de procedures zo duur te worden dat alleen bedrijven zich er nog me kunnen bemoeien. Voor maatschappelijke organisaties en boeren wordt het bijna onmogelijk om een bezwaar in te dienen.

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Verslag het zadenweekend 'Reclaim the Seeds' 2012

Burgerlijke ongehoorzaam en gezond tuinieren om zadendiversiteit te behouden

 

Dat het druk zou gaan worden bij het Reclaim the Seeds zadenweken op 10 en 11 maart hadden we wel verwacht. We kregen vooraf reacties uit de meest onverwachte hoeken. Maar de honderden mensen die het Plantagedok in Amsterdam vulden overtroffen toch alle verwachtingen. Vanuit heel Nederland en daarbuiten kwamen mensen bijzondere en bedreigde zaden, bonen en knollen ruilen, weggeven en (ver-)kopen. Dat was al heel inspirerend en een goede stap om de steeds verder bedreigde diversiteit van voedselgewassen in stand te houden. Maar ook de tweede doelstelling van het weekend kwam goed uit te verf: vele hobbytuinders en mensen geïnteresseerd in bijzondere gewassen gingen ook massaal naar de workshops en het debat.

 

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Dutch debate on patenting and breeders' rights not finished

(By organic chain organisation Biologica) On June 30, 2010, the Dutch parliament discussed the report "Veredelde zaken". This report focuses on two protection methods for intellectual property used in the plant breeding sector, patenting and breeders' rights (see below). The report shows that patent law not only limits access to genetic resources but also to the market and hence increase power concentrations in the breeding sector. This restricts innovations in plant breeding and supply of (new) varieties and thus constitutes a direct threat to food security. Lees meer...  

Monsanto looking for trouble

Flevoland, March 27, 2010 – Today a CSI Crime Seed Investigation unit visited several greenhouses at the national event Come into the Greenhouse visualising what the future may look like: world's largest seed company Monsanto will check growers for the presence of suspicious crops and  prevent them from using patented seeds or accuse them of patent breach. With this action A SEED wants to draw attention to the international campaign 'No Patents On Seeds' against applying patent law on seeds and animals. Lees meer...  

Pigs and chickens - how animal breeding gets dominated by the biotech-business

With stock-breeding there are animals and feed that those animals are supposed to eat so humans will be able to consume the meat, milk or the egg. This is in general a not very efficient way of producing food, but this is how it has been done for many millenniums. The scale of this process is increasing ever more and on the A SEED website you can find a lot of information about the problems that result from this.

But the developments continue: now there is the Monsanto pig™ that is eating Monsanto feed™. And also The Netherlands is participating with enthusiasm; Hendrix Genetics is one of the world leading companies when it comes to hybrid chicken, pigs and turkeys. Lees meer...  

Stop "€˜Monsantosizing€" food, seeds & animals!

Farmers’ organisations from around the world, breeders, UN institutions as well as development and environmental organisations have repeatedly raised major concerns about the increasing monopolisation of seeds and farm animals via patents over the last few years. The loss of independence and rising indebtedness for farmers, a reduction of plant and animal diversity, and ever higher constraints for breeding and research activities represent some of the most worrying impacts of this trend. But despite these alarming experiences so far no legal measures are in sight to stop this trend. Tens of thousands of people have signed the petition against patents on seeds. Lees meer...  

Breeders' Exemption on patent does not stop monopolization of food

Gerda Verburg (Dutch minister of Agriculture) and Maria van der Hoeven (minister of Economic Affairs) last week announced their preparation of a bill that would include a restricted breeders exemption to the national law on patents (Rijksoctrooiwet 1995). Plantum NL , representing the Dutch seed branche, responded with optimism to the announcement.  According to A SEED Europe the proposed limited exemption on patenting of living organisms is very far from sufficient. It does not counteract an unwanted concentration of power in the agricultural and food sector.
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Burning patent issues - protest at the European Patent Office in München

On Tuesday the 20th of July patents and patent applications on sunflowers, melons, broccoli, cows and pigs went up in smoke as demonstrators outside the European Patent Office (EPO) in Munich used their truly innovative Patent Burner. Several hundred individuals and representatives of farmers organisations and NGO's from around the world gathered to protest against the EPO and against the patents the EPO are issuing on plants and animals. That day was the start of the hearing by the highest EPO Board of Appeal. Subject of the hearing are controversial patents on conventionally bred broccoli and wrinkled tomatoes. Lees meer...  

Dutch debate on patenting and breeders' rights not finished

(By organic chain organisation Bionext ,formerly Biologica)

On June 30, 2010, the Dutch parliament discussed the report "Veredelde zaken". This report focuses on two protection methods for intellectual property used in the plant breeding sector, patenting and breeders' rights (see below). The report shows that patent law not only limits access to genetic resources but also to the market and hence increase power concentrations in the breeding sector. This restricts innovations in plant breeding and supply of (new) varieties and thus constitutes a direct threat to food security. Lees meer...