Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-05-09-Speech-3-205-000"
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"en.20120509.21.3-205-000"2
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"Mr President, Mr De Gucht, ladies and gentlemen, despite the fact that the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is not involved, because it is divided over its position, we have a broad majority in favour of an issue which is of great interest to the general public, even though there are different interpretations of current law.
We have a number of standards, including Directive 98/44/EC, which clearly state that patents cannot be granted for breeding animals and plants. However, to put it mildly, the European Patent Office (EPO) has interpreted the rules very broadly. There have been several cases where it is clear that the European Patent Office has breached the terms of the directives adopted by the European Union. In order to explain this independent interpretation of the directives, it is only necessary to say that suddenly granting patents for conventional processes for breeding plants and animals does not comply with what is clearly stated in Directive 98/44/EC.
The products of these breeding processes will also be protected by patents and this goes against the spirit of what we want to see happening in the European Union. Therefore, we must warn the European Patent Office that it must comply with the terms of the legislation and not overinterpret them.
There are still 1 000 applications outstanding for plant breeding and a total of 3 986 applications for animal breeding. This means that there are still plenty of things to discuss, including in the European Parliament. Of course, we must take seriously the concerns of farmers and breeders. The increasing number of patents brings with it the risk that large companies will monopolise plant and animal breeding. To a certain extent, it also reduces the variety of genetic resources available, which puts further restrictions on farmers, and conflicts with farmers’ inherent right to breed plants and animals themselves. We must prevent this from happening.
Last week, the European Patent Office had to reverse a decision concerning the separation of sperm. This is also a point which we in the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance complained about at the time. Now this patent has had to be withdrawn. We have achieved a clear victory, but this is only the beginning of the process of political evaluation of what the EPO is doing in many areas. Nevertheless, I would like to see us adopting this resolution with a large majority. This will send out a clear sign that the vast majority of Members of the European Parliament want a change of course. We want the Commission to focus on this issue and ensure that it is clarified. Mr De Gucht, you have just said this yourself.
If necessary, the Convention on the Grant of European Patents must be made clearer. Breeding is not invention and there is a farmers’ privilege. None of us want patents on life."@en1
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