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.
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Briefing paper
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R. Tripp, N. Louwaars and D. Eaton