IP for plants has always been controversial. Lately, the debate has focused on how IP should respond to the emergence of new breeding technologies (known in the EU as new genomic techniques, or NGTs). Patents have borne the brunt of the criticism. The strong protection afforded by patents is generally assumed to be a better incentive for innovation, but this strength can also be seen as a tool for excessive corporate control over the food system and an obstacle to further plant breeding. EU lawmakers have responded by including various measures in the proposed NGT Regulation1 to address and monitor the potential barriers that patents create for farmers and breeders ….
Jocelyn Bosse, Plant variety rights and copyright: time to embrace the comparison? Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice. Published: 11 May 2026.
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