New plants for better harvests

Plants form the basis of our diet. They are constantly being further developed through breeding in order to secure yields, generate new properties or adapt plants to the consequences of climate change. Companies protect their innovations and investments in plant breeding through patents and plant variety rights. These regulations are often criticised: there are concerns about the concentration of power in the agricultural industry and the possible obstruction of free access to genetic resources. At the same time, the complex interplay of national and international regulations in the area of patent and plant variety protection on new plant varieties is of great importance for agriculture and thus for food security worldwide. Without such regulations, there would be no commercial plant breeding and thus almost no new varieties, and in this event we will analyse and discuss the effects of patent and plant variety protection law from a legal, economic and social perspective.