European Parliament opposes patents on plants

On Thursday 19 September, the European Parliament voted by a majority against granting patents on plant properties. A resolution was also adopted in which the European groups of the SGP, CDA and VVD played an important role.

This resolution, which was put on the agenda by Jan Huitema (VVD), sets out the concerns of the broad parliamentary coalition about the patenting of plants. In short, the resolution requests not to grant patents based on plant characteristics obtained through classical breeding. It has never been the intention of European legislation to grant patents on plants. 

Thanks to the support from Parliament, it is clear that the European Union wants strong action from the European Commission towards the European Patent Office. This agency has also been criticized before. At the time, the European Patent Office issued a patent on broccoli and tomato. The criticism of this resulted in the European Patent Office taking the decision in 2017 that no more patents would be granted. 

Discussion rekindled
The discussion was rekindled when it was decided in an appeal case in 2019 that the rules of the European Patent Office are invalid and patents were still possible. The European Union's final position on the matter will be taken by the European Court of Justice later this year.

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