Bio-octrooien scherp in de gaten houden - Main contents

Steeds vaker wordt een octrooi verleend op kenmerken van planten. Het grote gevaar is dat op lange termijn een klein aantal bio-multinationals in bezit raakt van strategische octrooien en de zadenmarkt volledig beheerst. De PvdA in het Europees Parlement is sterk tegen deze octrooiering van levend materiaal. Via een brief vraagt woordvoerder Judith Merkies samen met haar collega´s opheldering over deze kwestie. Lees hem hieronder.

Tonio Borg

European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy

Michel Barnier

European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services

European Commission

B - 1049 Brussels

Brussels, 10 July 2013

Dear Commissioner Borg, Dear Commissioner Barnier,

We are writing to you with regard to the ongoing concerns about bio-patents and the recently published Plant Reproductive Material Regulation.

We appreciate that you, Commissioner Borg, used the new seed regulation to simplify the rules and reduce red tape. We have however received many letters from our constituents concerned about potential implications of the proposal. Therefore before we start amending the regulation we have a few questions to clarify some of the issues.

The first seed laws were introduced to protect farmers from unscrupulous seed merchants selling either cheaper seed or even dust and sand. It is therefore completely understandable that food producers demand necessary information to identify the material and a guarantee of quality. However this needs to be done in a balanced way to prevent an even greater consolidation of plant breeding and seed production and the loss of biodiversity.

There is an increasing problem of seed market concentration. The top five companies now account for over 30% of the global commercial seed market, but in some sectors the concentration is higher e.g. in the sugar beet seed market the top three companies now account more than 90% of the market. Citizens are worried that the registration procedure is far too cumbersome and expensive for smaller farms or seed growers, and would force them out of the market, making way for big seed companies to get a monopoly. Some of our constituents have therefore been calling for the testing and registration to be voluntary for all. Did the Commission assess such an option?

To reduce the administrative burden for micro-enterprises you proposed an exemption from the registration obligation. Moreover, should small plant breeders nevertheless decide to register plant material, an exemption from paying fees was also introduced. Many citizens are however confused whether the release from obligation to pay fees will apply to all or only to the registration charges. Could the Commission clarify what will the exemption cover?

Moreover, the public advocates for changes to the current intellectual property regime. Utility patents on plant genetics facilitate concentration in the seed industry and threaten the free exchange of genetic resources. Breeders are prevented from using patented varieties to breed new varieties thus effectively giving the patent holders control over an ever increasing genetic bank. This is unacceptable and must be stopped. The European Parliament adopted last year a resolution calling for the exclusion of plants and animals derived from conventional breeding from patenting. Moreover, more than 2.1 million people worldwide have signed the Avaaz petition supporting the Parliament's call. All these initiatives notwithstanding, bio-multinationals can still obtain patents on vegetable characteristics and this number has been growing over the past years. This paves the way for a situation where a small group of big companies possess all strategic patents and thus controls the seed market. It is suggested bio-patents have little additional value in protecting the intellectual property right of seeds, because this protection is very well-established in the traditional Plant Breeder's Right. What is more, bio-patents could enable a small group of bio-multinationals to take over the market, exacerbating biodiversity problems. In the light of the upcoming revision of the bio-patent directive, what the Commission intends to do to address this problem?

According to Article 2, the Regulation will not apply to seeds exchanged between persons other than professional operators. However, a professional operator could be a person who offers material for sale or for any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not. It therefore creates concerns that farmers’ exchange of seeds from their own harvest, a century-old tradition, will be made punishable by law. Could the Commissioner clarify what type of exchange is covered by the scope of the Regulation and confirm whether the professional operator definition refers only to commercial exploitation of seed?

The unfortunate result of the increased consolidation of the seed market is the loss of biodiversity. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, since 1900s 75% of the genetic diversity of crops has been lost. The genetic diversity of the plants that we grow and eat could be lost forever, threatening future food security, unless special efforts are stepped up. Could you please explain how will the proposal help to preserve agro-biodiversity and plant genetic resources?

The public worries that the approval procedures, which will apply similarly to all varieties, will place ‘old' and heterogeneous varieties at a disadvantage since their biological make-up makes it impossible for them to become 'distinct, uniform and stable', and will result in disproportionately high administrative and financial burdens, particularly for smaller enterprises. Although you have included heterogeneous material in the scope of the Regulation there are no details regarding its marketing rules, as they are to be included in the delegated acts. The recent 'olive oil ban' controversy showed how transparency is crucial. Regardless of the procedures we follow when changing the EU law, citizens must be fully informed of all our moves. We would be therefore very grateful for more light to be shed on this important part of the proposal. Constituents are also worried that the rules concerning the 'traditional' varieties will become more stringent, especially due to the historical and geographical restrictions, and will prevent many seed breeders from marketing these conservation and amateur varieties. Could the Commissioner explain whether this is true?

We hope you can clarify the worries put forward by our constituents and that you can firmly include the importance of traditional seeds, plant breeder's right and fair and equal access to the plant market for all stakeholders - big and small - both in shedding light on the published Plant Reproductive Material Regulation and when drafting the revision of the biopatent directive.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

Brian Simpson MEP

Spokesperson for Agriculture in the S&D UK Delegation

Ulrike Rodust MEP

Spokesperson for Agriculture in the S&D German Delegation

Judith A. Merkies MEP

Spokesperson for Agriculture in the S&D Dutch Delegation

Karin Kadenbach MEP

Spokesperson for Agriculture in the S&D Austrian Delegation

Christel Schaldemose MEP

Spokesperson for Agriculture in the S&D Danish Delegation