wWe kindly invite you [med meget kort varsel] to our workshop about patents on seeds on Thursday, 16 October from 15-16h CEST. We will be available until 16.30h for those interested in continuing the discussion.
Registration required!
Please register via this link until 16 October 13h CEST:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/e9s9UGuxRCSCuF64PFqL3Q
The workshop will be held in English.
The background: In the workshop, No Patents on Seeds! will present a report about European patents on classical plant breeding, recently applied or granted. One example is a patent on breeding of a native trait in tomatoes, just based on crossing and selection. The patent (EP3911147) was filed in 2019 and granted in July 2025 to the company Enza Zaden. The patent is a precedent case that shows how the European Patent Office (EPO) is circumventing the current European rules and laws: The European Patent Convention (EPC) prohibits patents on plants derived from crossing and selection since 2017.
The patent is also highly relevant for the discussion about plants obtained from new genomic techniques (NGTs): The patent as granted is just based on crossing and selection as used in traditional breeding. But the gene could also be used and patented for NGT applications. Although using the naturally occurring gene would mean to imitate what is already found in nature, the EPO still would declare it as ‘inventive’ if NGTs are applied.
Against this backdrop, the report not only gives an overview of current developments in seed patents but also presents a new solution to solve some of the most pressing problems with seed monopolies: After exchange with experts No Patents on Seeds! developed a proposal that only would need some minor changes to be added to the current legal provisions.
Speakers:
- Johanna Eckhardt, , No Patents on Seeds! (AT) – framing the issue
- Dr. Christoph Then, No Patents on Seeds! (DE) – details on the new patent on tomatoes and introduction of a new proposal how to prevent similar patents to be granted in future
- Dagmar Urban, ARCHE NOAH (AT) – proposals for political solutions
- Dr. Steffen Kawelke, German Plant Breeders' Association (Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e. V. / BDP) (DE) – breeder’s perspective
- Frans Carree, De Bolster (NL) – breeder’s perspective on current EPO practice
- Prof. Dr. Christine Godt, University of Oldenburg (DE) – legal implications of current patent practices and possible solutions
---Interactive format – Q&A and open discussion welcome
For questions please contact johanna.eckhardt@no-patents-on-seeds.org
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More info about the recently granted patent:
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/enza_zaden
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/jordan_virus
More details in our latest report:
English version: https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/report-2025
German version: https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/de/bericht-2025