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Intellectual property rights for plant breeding and rural development: Challenges for agricultural policymakers

Briefing/policy papers

Developing countries are being urged to strengthen

intellectual property rights (IPRs) to foster innovation

and expand trade. The field of agriculture is no

exception, and the Agreement on Trade-Related

Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires

all World Trade Organization (WTO) members to provide

either patent or sui generis protection for plant

varieties. Only a few industrialized countries use

patent systems for plant varieties, and developing

countries will almost certainly look towards sui generis

options for plant variety protection (PVP) to meet

their TRIPS obligations.

R. Tripp, N. Louwaars and D. Eaton