Seeds and Trees: An Insight into Agriculture, Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights
Dr. Subhamoy Das

Abstract
The role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has lately become a key issue in agricultural and resource economics. As the scope and power of IPRs in biotechnology have grown, their international reach has expanded. These developments raise many fascinating and important issues: optimal patent design and licensing; the implications of IPRs under cumulative innovation, typical of agriculture and biotechnology; the effects of the TRIPS agreement on developing countries; etc. The paper finds that any system of IPR protection must take into account the needs of the community as well as the services provided to the commercial or highly productive sector, including limitations that may be imposed on a farmer’s ability and rights to replant saved seed. It also finds that there are specific needs to achieve a balance between efficient protection of genetic resources, efficient protection of IPRs and mechanisms to regulate the access to genetic resources and traditional knowledge.

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