Intellectual Property

Today the world faces a new set of challenges, ranging from growing population with shrinking land and water resources to climatic and demand changes. Meeting these challenges sustainably will require better use of resources, new tools and new technologies. Agricultural innovation plays a key role in driving long-term agricultural productivity, rural development, and environmental sustainability by creating new solutions. For this reason, innovation needs to be encouraged, supported and protected. In any industry, the maintenance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is an essential basis for innovation and progress.

• Intellectual property protection is necessary to encourage continued investments in research and development, and to ensure that the plant science industry maintains its strong innovative base
• Patents form the cornerstone of intellectual property protection
• The protection of regulatory data and confidential business information for both crop protection and biotechnology inventions is important to support innovation and development

The plant science industry is one of the world’s most research and development-intensive industries. It ranks in the top four global industries in terms of percentage of sales invested in research and development (R&D). For example, industry’s top 10 companies invest US $2.25 billion, or 7.5 per cent of sales, into the research and development of cutting-edge products in crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology. All of these products aim to improve sustainable agricultural production.

The development and utilization of intellectual property rights is an integral aspect of economic growth. Our industry is committed to sustainable agriculture through innovative research and technology and through continual improvement of existing products. We can help meet the challenges of a growing world by supplying innovative tools to grow more food, feed, fuel and fiber sustainably