Patent Applications in Animal Breeding

Modern molecular biotechnology has been implemented in conventional animal breeding by development of DNA-analytics and establishment of genetic engineering. The sector of biotechnology has a great innovative potential and has developed a major economic importance. Associated with high investments in research and development the economic pressure to protect intellectual property rights by patent  application rises. Recently, the number of patent applications in animal breeding has increased strongly, including patent application that raise claim for wide-ranging breeding and selection strategies. It can not be excluded that parts of these methods and techniques are already state of the art in practice. Besides, some of these patent applications are rising claim on animals and breeding populations that has been bred by the claimed methods and techniques. Arising consequences for breeders as well as breeding- and AI-organizations are hard to define. For this reason it is of major importance to raise an objection against patents that are granted unjustified.

Vollversion deutsch