Intellectual property rights and the commercialization of public agricultural research in developing countries.

Abstract

The objectives of this chapter are: to review the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) legislation on public agricultural research and on the national agricultural research organizations (NAROs) in developing countries; and to evaluate the pros and cons of the commercialization of public agricultural research. A survey conducted by the International Service for National Agricultural Research in 2000-01 among 430 research projects in 105 national agricultural research institutes in 33 developing countries provides evidence of the effects of IPR on public research institutes. As a background for the discussion of the survey's results, the chapter provides first an overview of the global IPR legislation and outlines how the commercialization of public agricultural research in developing countries could impact the agricultural sector and the research priorities of the NAROs.