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3 Nw. J. Tech. & Intell. Prop. 160 (2004-2005)
Intellectual Property and Genetically Modified Seeds: The United States, Trade, and the Developing World

handle is hein.journals/nwteintp3 and id is 164 raw text is: Copyright 2005 by Notthwestern University School of Law Volume 3, Number 2 (Spring 2004) Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property Intellectual Property and Genetically Modified Seeds: The United States, Trade, and the Developing World Haley Stein* The United States' policy on intellectual property (IP) rights for the life sciences grants broad patent rights to private industry. While this type of IP regime is common in developed nations, and in the United States in particular, developing nations do not have a comparable internal infrastructure for intellectual property rights. The private sector's influence has shaped IP policy in the United States, and has likewise shaped IP policies championed by the United States internationally through the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The result is a stringent patent regime for genetically modified seeds in both developed nations (the source for and consumers of IP protected seeds) and developing nations (the purchasers of IP protected seeds). IP protections on seed development have repercussions for trade, business, and food development issues. Recent dramatic developments in technology have opened new doors for seed developers and marketers. Rapid consolidation created a global industry primarily controlled by a few large corporations. As a result, the seed industry is now a global $15 billion industry.1 The private seed industry has made tremendous commercial gains as a result of strong IP protections on its products. The public also benefits, as these protections foster innovation, ingenuity, and research for new and improved products. IP rights are likewise at the forefront of the United States' trade agenda, just as they are priorities on the private seed industry's agenda.' The United States is seen as having the strongest protections for IP rights world-wide.4 Agribusinesses in the United States * J.D. May 2005, Northwestern University School of Law; B.A. May 1999, Tufts University. JEREMY RIFKIN, HARVESTING THE GENE AND REMAKING THE WORLD: THE BIOTECH CENTURY 68 (1998). 2 J.M. Spectar, Patent Necessity: Intellectual Property Dilemmas in the Biotech Domain & Treatment Equity for Developing Countries, 24 Hous. J. INT'L L 227,234 (2002). 3 United States Trade Representative, USTR's Role in Trade Policy, available at http:/www.ustr.gov/Who We Are/Mission of the USTR.html (last visited April 20, 2005) (The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is responsible for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade, commodity, and direct investment policy, and overseeing negotiations with other countries. The head of USTR is the U.S. Trade Representative, a Cabinet member who serves as the President's principal trade advisor, negotiator, and spokesperson on trade issues.). 4 Spectar, supra note 2, at 235.

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