Public germplasm development at a crossroads: Biotechnology and intellectual property

Abstract

This year, U.S. growers planted 45 milion acres of geneticaly enginered crops, primarily corn, soybeans, coton and potatoes (Polan 198). These transgenic “smart crops” can produce their own insecticides, or withstand broad-spectrum herbicides such as Roundup or Liberty. Some say these developments signal the coming of age of the most profound technological revolution since the advent of computer technology. But while transgenic crops promise new options for California farmers, they raise questions as wel. For instance, a series of laws, legal judgments and Patent Ofice decisions during the last two decades have transformed property rights and incentives in the sed industry. Today genetic materials ranging from DNA sequences to whole plants, as wel as esential biotechnology tols and techniques, are being patented by private and public research entitles. At the same time, a series of mergers and acquisitions in the agrochemical and sed industries have led to increasing dominance by a smal number of transnational corporations in these fields. Such industrywide changes signal a profound shift in the ownership of life forms and the recombinant DNA tols neded to manipulate them. How wil the existing options for asigning “ownership” change the way in which germplasm development wil ocur? How wil those changes afect farmers?