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Developing each new variety is an expensive business, requiring major upfront
investment in people, technology and facilities. Research and development takes
place over many years, with no guarantee of success.
A typical wheat breeding programme, for example, costs £1.5 million a year to maintain,
and costs are increasing as customer requirements become more demanding.
The ongoing process of crop improvement is funded through a system of intellectual
property similar to the protection offered via copyright on books, CDs and DVDs.
Plant breeders are awarded a form of intellectual property, known as Plant Breeders’
Rights, on each new variety. Licensing the use of this intellectual property allows royalties
to be collected when a protected variety is produced and sold as certified seed, or when it
is used as farm-saved seed.
The plant breeders’ rights system also allows improvements to be shared in others'
breeding programmes, stimulating future progress and innovation.
Plant Breeders’ Rights were first introduced into UK law in 1964, and have underpinned
major advances in crop development over the past 40 years.
To learn more about the action that BSPB is taking to protect plant breeders' intellectual
property in farm saved seed, click here.
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