In The Seeds of Innovation (Grow, spring 2024), professor and extension specialist Julie Dawson gave readers a primer on intellectual property (IP) in the seed industry — how the current system can stymie research, hinder fair and competitive seed markets, and threaten food security. Dawson was speaking with inside knowledge, having previously outlined these issues in a report she coauthored in March 2023 for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The goal of the report was to identify ways to ensure that IP promotes innovation without restricting healthy competition in the seed industry. Now, some of the strategies planted in that document are sprouting. In October 2024, the USDA announced a three-part framework — developed with input from Dawson and outreach program managers Paulina Jenney and Kiki Hubbard — for improving the transparency of intellectual property protection and clarifying the kinds of research activities that are permitted.

“These efforts will help us reach our goals of promoting research and innovation,” says Dawson, whose appointment is in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at CALS. “Scientists may not be doing research now because they are unsure about where they can operate and what is protected. Implementation of this strategy will increase transparency, drive novel research, and improve the ability of the U.S. seed system to provide farmers with the varieties they need.”

The first part of the framework is to identify opportunities to better define patent-related disclosures for seeds. This will give researchers access to more useful patent descriptions, which will help them better understand the boundaries of patent rights and find the remaining spaces where they can innovate.

Second, the USDA is providing guidance to federal researchers on the legally permissible uses of protected germplasm, such as observations of samples deposited with patent applications. With a better understanding of patented inventions, scientists can shape their own research in ways that do not infringe on active patents.

Finally, the USDA is encouraging that germplasm developed with federal funding be made available for further research and plant breeding, which enables both private and public breeders to innovate and bring diverse choices to market.

“This does not preclude researchers from seeking IP on federally funded research results,” Dawson says. “Instead, it encourages strategies that ensure other researchers can continue to build on the results of federal investment.”

This article was posted in Economic and Community Development, Follow-Up, Food Systems, Spring 2025 and tagged intellectual property, plant and agroecosystem sciences, plant breeding, seed industry.