Plant variety protection is a type of intellectual property right intended to provide an incentive to invest in research and development of new and improved plant varieties. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, UPOV, is the sole international agency concerned with intellectual property protection of new plant varieties. Concerns have been expressed about lack of transparency, democratic accountability and possibilities for public debate in its operation. The purpose of this study is to investigate this issue and find ways to open up the ‘black box’ that is UPOV for the mutual benefit of all who have a stake or interest in plant-related intellectual property.
Many so-called ‘traditional’ or small-scale farmers remain highly innovative. Farmers’ varieties or ‘landraces’ are usually selected for a range of traits and are not genetically uniform, which helps ensure some crops will grow even in the face of unexpected, difficult or varying conditions. Landraces also provide a diversity of genetic materials from which new varieties can be bred. Yet yields from landraces are often not as good as from more recent, improved varieties.
http://quno.org/geneva/pdf/economic/Issues/UPOV%20study%20by%20QUNO_English.pdf
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