Patentno varstvo na rastlinah

Vraničar, Tajda (author), Podobnik, Klemen (mentor)

Patent je pravica intelektualne lastnine, ki njenemu imetniku omogoča izključno uporabo zaščitene stvari, hkrati pa tretjim osebam preprečuje razpolaganje. Za pridobitev patenta morajo biti izpolnjeni pogoji novosti, inventivnosti in industrijske uporabljivosti, tudi pri patentih na področju biotehnologije. Najpomembnejša pravna vira, ki urejata področje patentov v biotehnologiji, sta Evropska patentna konvencija in Direktiva 98/44/ES o pravni zaščiti biotehnoloških izumov. Iz njiju izhaja splošno pravilo, da rastlinskih sort ni mogoče patentirati. Pravice na rastlinah se poleg patenta lahko zaščitijo tudi z žlahtniteljsko pravico. Ta je od patenta starejša in se uporablja za zaščito rastlin, ki so bile pridobljene s postopkom klasičnega žlahtnjenja. Za žlahtnitelja je najpomembnejša žlahtniteljeva izjema, ki imetniku omogoča, da lahko zaščiteno rastlinsko sorto, njena semena in pridelke uporablja za žlahtnjenje nove sorte. Pri patentnem varstvu takšne izjeme ne poznamo, saj je tretji osebi dovoljeno uporabljanje, prodajanje in uvažanje rastline ali semenskega materiala samo s privolitvijo imetnika. Magistrska diplomska naloga temelji na analizi pravnih virov, ki urejajo področje patentov na rastlinah in praksi Evropske patentne organizacije, ki podeljuje evropske patente. Najpomembnejši primeri na tem področju so Ciba-Geigy, Lubrizol, Plant Genetic System in Transgenic plant/Novartis II v starejši praksi ter Tomato II in Broccoli II v novejši. Vsak izmed teh primerov se ukvarja s pojmom rastlinske sorte, kako ga definirati, razlagati in uporabljati. Novejša praksa je izzvala odpor v javnosti in jasno pokazala na luknje v evropskem patentnem pravu. Čeprav je nekaj časa kazalo, da bo prišlo do popolne spremembe razumevanja biotehnološkega patentnega prava in da bo patent mogoče podeliti tudi za izume na rastlinah, ki so bile pridobljene s postopkom klasičnega žlahtnjenja, do tega kljub novejšim odločitvam ni prišlo, ker so Evropska komisija in nekaj držav članic ter nato še Evropska patentna organizacija podale mnenje, da proizvodi, ki so nastali na podlagi bistveno biološkega procesa, ne smejo prejeti patentne zaščite.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: žlahtniteljska pravica, Evropska patentna konvencija, Evropska patentna organizacija, Direktiva 98/44/ES, razširjen odbor Evropskega patentnega urada za pritožbe, G 0001/98 (Transgenic plant/Novartis II), G 2/12 (Tomato II) in G 2/13 (Broccoli II)
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Organization: PF - Faculty of Law
• Year: 2019
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-111587
• COBISS.SI-ID: 16968529
• Publication date in RUL: 04.10.2019

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: Patent protection on plants

Abstract

A patent is an intellectual property right that allows its holder to exclusively use the protected matter and at the same time prevents third parties from disposing of it. In order to obtain a patent, the conditions of novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability must be fulfilled, this also applies to patents in biotechnology. The most important legal sources regulating patents in biotechnology are the European Patent Convention and Directive 98/44/EC on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. From these two sources we can derive a general rule that plant varieties cannot be patented. In addition to the patent, plant rights may also be protected by a Plant breeders’ right. It is older than the patent protection and is used to protect plants that have been obtained by the classical breeding method. For the breeder, the most important is the breeder's exemption, which allows its holder to use the protected plant variety, its seeds and crops to breed a new variety. We do not know of such an exception in patent protection, since a third party is only allowed to use, sell and import a plant or seed material with the consent of the holder. The master's thesis is based on an analysis of the legal sources governing the field of patents on plants and the practice of the European Patent Organization that grants European patents. The most important cases are Ciba-Geigy, Lubrizol, Plant Genetic System and Transgenic plant / Novartis II in older and Tomato II and Broccoli II in the recent legal practice. Each of these cases deals with the concept of the plant variety, how to define, interpret and use it. More recent practices have provoked public resistance and clearly pointed out the holes in European patent law. Even though it seemed for some time that there will be a complete change in the understanding of biotechnological patent law and that a patent may also be granted for inventions on plants obtained by the classical breeding process. This has not happened despite recent decisions, since the European Commission and a few Member States, and later the European Patent Organization, suggested that plants that were produced on the basis of an essential biological process should not be granted patent protection.

• Keywords: Plant breeder's right, European Patent Convention, European Patent Organisation, Directive 98/44/EC, Enlarged Board of Appeal of European Patent Office, G 0001/98 (Transgenic plant/Novartis II), G 2/12 (Tomato II) and G 2/13 (Broccoli II)