IP for Plants and Plant Protection Products in Europe and UK

Agriculture is an increasingly technology-driven sector in which IP is ever more important. Ag sector IP can relate to a broad range of technologies: from plant breeding and biotechnology, to agri-tech ranging from traditional farm machinery to sophisticated robotics and software/AI, to the chemistry of plant protection products such as herbicides and pesticides. As such, IP considerations vary quite widely both within the ag sector and between that sector and others. The situation is further complicated by the fact that there is not only patent protection to consider, but also other forms of protection such as plant variety rights, contractual mechanisms, supplementary protection certificates and regulatory data protection. This webinar seeks to provide an update on legal developments and practical tips for practitioners active in this sometimes under-appreciated but exciting area of IP.

Topics include:

• Patenting plant protection products such as herbicides and pesticides.
• A recent development concerning data to support inventive step at the EPO for plant protection products.
• Other considerations when patenting plant protection products.
• An update on supplementary protection certificates for plant protection products.
• Regulatory data protection for plant protection products.
• Patent-eligibility of plants and agricultural microbes under the European Patent Convention – latest case law and unanswered questions.
• Plant variety rights in the EU and UK.
• Brexit considerations.