Intellectual Property and Development of Transgenic Horticultural Crops - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 220

We. speciically. deine. freedom-to-operate,. a. systematic. way. of. considering. legal.
implications.and.navigating.through.IP.landscape.and.issues.in.research.and.com-
mercial. development.. Finally,. the. third. section. describes. strategies. of. accessing.
intellectual. property. rights. (IPRs). to. enhance. broad. access. and. dissemination. of.
new.transgenic.horticultural.crops..We.present.PIPRA.as.a.model.of.a.public.sector.
initiative.that.provides.expertise.to.understand.and.to.facilitate.access.to.IP.for.the.
development.and.deployment.of.horticultural.crops.
TYPES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY TO PROTECT
HORTICULTURAL INVENTIONS
In.the.case.of.horticultural.crops,.the.legal.systems.protect.human-made.improve-
ments,. such. as. a. new. plant. variety,. with. IPRs. and. the. physical. materials,. such. as.
seeds,.with.tangible.property.rights.(TPRs)..These.forms.of.IPRs.and.TPRs.can.be.
used.by.themselves.or.compounded.to.protect.and.manage.innovations.in.horticul-
tural.biotechnology..The.main.types.of.intellectual.property.protection.applicable.to.
horticultural.inventions.include.patents,.plant.variety.rights,.trade.secrets,.trade-
marks,.and.copyrights.(Table.10.1). 1,2 .Tangible.property.rights.are.also.important.and.
are. often. managed. through. material. transfer. agreements. (MTAs). or. bailments.
and.can.be.used.to.limit.the.use.of.physical.materials..These.forms.of.IPRs.and.TPRs.are.
the.cornerstone.of.the.innovation.process.in.the.United.States.and.Europe,.and.these.
rights.are.increasingly.expanding.into.other.countries.in.the.world.
Below,. we. describe. the. different. forms. of. IPRs. and. TPRs. and. how. these. are.
related.to.the.development.of.horticultural.crops..There.are.signiicant.differences.
between.intellectual.and.tangible.property.rights,.particularly.in.terms.of.geographic.
and.time.limitations..IPRs,.like.plant-variety.protection.(PVP).or.plant.patents,.are.
granted.by.national.ofices.for.a.speciic.country-jurisdiction.and.for.a.speciied.time.
period.. In. contrast,. tangible. property. rights. are. not. limited. by. geography. or. time.
and.the.terms.governing.their.use.are.left.to.the.discretion.of.the.tangible.property.
owner.. The. terms. governing. tangible. property. use. are. usually. speciied. in. MTAs.
or.bailments..Thus,.the.tangible.property.rights.may.extend.beyond.the.protection.
offered.by.IPRs.
Of.the.many.forms.of.IPRs,. patents .provide.the.legal.rights.to.exclude.others.from.
using.your.invention.that.must.be.novel,.useful,.and.nonobvious.to.one.skilled.in.the.
art.of.horticultural.breeding..Patent.rights.are.conferred.by.national.governments.for.
a.speciied.period.of.time,.usually.20.years,.and.are.limited.to.the.country.in.which.
the.patent.is.granted..In.exchange.for.exclusivity,.the.inventor.makes.a.public.disclo-
sure.of.the.invention..In.the.United.States,.the.two.forms.of.patents.most.pertinent.to.
the.horticultural.industry.are.plant.patents.and.utility.patents.
Plant patents .are.speciic.to.the.U.S..legal.system.and.are.granted.only.for.asexu-
ally. propagated. plants,. such. as. strawberries. and. fruit. trees,. and. exclude. tuber-
propagated. and. uncultivated. species.. At. the. time. the. U.S.. Plant. Patent. Act. was.
enacted.in.the.1930s,.sexually.produced.plants.were.believed.to.be.unstable.and.non-
uniform.and,.as.a.result,.were.excluded.from.plant.patent.protection.. Utility patents .
offer.one.of.the.most.robust.forms.of.IP.protection..In.horticultural.biotechnology,.
utility. patents. can. be. used. to. protect. the. genetically. modiied. seeds. or. plants. and.