Japan pushes ASEAN members to ratify seed patent UPOV

TOKYO, Aug. 26 ― Japan has been pushing its neighboring countries to build an intellectual property protection system to protect businesses in the cultivation of new plant species and seed protection in East Asia.

The East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum held the 11th annual meeting in Muntinlupa, Philippines on Aug. 1-2.

Member countries — Japan, China, South Korea and 10 Southeast Asian states –agreed to accelerate ratification of the International Union for the Protection of Plant Varieties (UPOV) 1991 Convention in the next 10 years.

But few ASEAN members have ratified the convention, as they fear it may increase global corporations’ monopolistic control over small farmers in the seed trade.

The UPOV 91 obliges a seed patent to be protected for up to 25 years.

So far, only four countries, namely Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam, have ratified the convention.

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