“Fair Competition and Intellectual Property Rights in the Seed Industry” a Plant Breeding Seminar by Prof. Julie Dawson

Julie Dawson, Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

When: Wednesday, February 5^th, 2025

Where: Agron 3140, 3:10 – 4:10 pm

Description: How can we ensure that farmers have the best seed varieties to meet changing environmental, societal, and market needs? The USDA and a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been examining issues of intellectual property and competition in the seed industry and developing strategies to increase opportunities for small, independent companies and public plant breeders and seed growers. In March 2023, USDA published “More and Better Choices for Farmers”, which identified several areas where action could be taken to improve farmer variety choices. These include enhancing transparency in the seed marketplace; amplifying the voices of growers, seed producers, and other small to mid-sized businesses in the seed system; and promoting broader access to seeds for research and plant breeding. Plants are unique in that they are self-replicating organisms governed by three separate IP mechanisms under U.S. intellectual property law: plant patents, utility patents, and U.S. Plant Variety Protection certificates. Both public and private breeders and researchers have described numerous legal gray areas in the context of allowed uses of protected plant genetic material and difficulty navigating these areas in their own research. This seminar will present the main findings of the report and how plant breeders can engage with these issues.

Bio: Julie Dawson is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, training students in the plant breeding and plant genetics, horticulture, and agroecology graduate fields. Research interests include the use of genetic resources in plant breeding for organic systems and methods for participatory selection and variety development. She is also the state Extension specialist for regional food systems and does applied research for growers serving local food markets. She is an academic cooperator with the USDA-AMS on research to promote fair competition and innovation in the seed industry.