Principals Noel Courage and Ainslie Parsons explore strategies for protecting new plant varieties across key markets

Principals Ainslie Parsons and Noel Courage, along with expert international coauthors, recently contributed to an article in The Patent Lawyer Magazine examining how plant breeders and biotechs can protect their innovations in major markets around the world. 

In “From a seed of an idea to IP: protecting new plant varieties in key markets,” the authors compare the different forms of intellectual property protection available to plant breeders in Canada, the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia. 

The authors note that because the laws are significantly different between jurisdictions, developing a tailored IP strategy that reflects both the type of plant innovation involved and the markets where protection is needed. 

“IP rights are most effective when combined with robust contractual arrangements governing the use, cultivation, and distribution of seed.” 

Read the full article in The Patent Lawyer Magazine (pages 14-16).