Intellectual Property Protection for Plant Related Innovation - Fit for Future?

The book reviews the history, present, and likely future of intellectual property for plant-related inventions. It describes 'what works' and 'what does not work' in the current situation and analyzes whether the current intellectual property framework will be able to cope with the rise of genome editing/new breeding technologies (especially CRISPR Cas). Based on trend data, the analysis shows that the current system, including stakeholder initiatives, will most likely not be able to adapt to the technology change. It then evaluates different options for legislators to respond and proposes in detail a new holistic IP system which merges elements of the patent and the plant variety protection system into one new system.

Michael Kock has been working in the field of plant-related innovation, technology transfer, and intellectual property for more than 20 years. As the head of IP for multinational companies and a member of several seed industry IP committees of industry associations, he gained extensive international strategic and operational experience to create, defend, enforce, and leverage plant-related IP rights. He currently works as a consultant and assists companies to design holistic IP, freedom-to-operate, and value capture strategies. As a qualified European and Swiss patent attorney, he regularly lectures on IP and has published multiple papers on plant IP topics in peer-reviewed law journals.