Licensing Restrictions and Appropriating Market Benefits from…许可限制和从获取市场利益.pdfVIP

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal Volume 16, Issue 4 2006 Article 3 VOLUME XVI BOOK 4 Licensing Restrictions and Appropriating Market Benefits from Plant Innovation Jay P. Kesan University of Illinois College of Law c Copyright 2006 by the authors. Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal is produced by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress). /iplj KESAN_091706_CLEAN 9/17/2006 5:50:37 PM Licensing Restrictions and Appropriating Market Benefits from Plant Innovation ∗ Jay P. Kesan Recent patent cases have come under fire with producers accused of seeking to maximize profits by undermining consumers’ rights of sale.1 Yet in the case of agricultural biotechnology, its reliance on patent law is more complex because of the unique reproductive qualities of its products. Some products require a great deal of technical innovation, but once acquired, they can be reproduced perfectly and then used or sold by the consumer without additional cost. At the same time, certain licensing agreements now prohibit farmers from carrying out long-standing practices on their farms. These issues have come to the forefront of patent law, because of cases brought forth by agbiotech firm 2 Monsanto. This talk addresses intellectual property concerns posed by licensing restrictions associated with the sale of seed and the problem of appropriating market benefits from plant innovation. Among