E.C. wants to patent hi-tech breeding

Press, 18 March 1989, Page 18

E.C. wants to patent hi-tech breeding

NZPA-Reuter Brussels When scientists were told that pork would taste better if pigs had no hair, they developed a hairless pig. Using genetic engineering, they have also produced cows that give more milk, chickens that double their egg output and a mouse that manufactures insulin to fight diabetes in humans. All of these new breeds were developed in laboratories by manipulating genes, the strands of material that pass characteristics between generations of living things. Now the European Community wants to make it easier for scientists to patent these new life forms justas inventors do with new machines or industrial pro-

s cesses. s “The benefits to society can be tre. ; mendous and patenting is the best way for Europe to stay competitive. We ; estimate the bio-engineering market tc , be worth SUS4O billion ($64.8 billion) by t the yean 2000,” said an E.C. official, i Sandra Keegan. The United States and Japan are far ■ ahead in the genetic engineering indus- > try, and the E.C. proposal aims to help ! Europe catch up. f The proposal would bring the different patent laws in the 12 member states into > line and give scientists and industry t protection for their inventions through? • out the giant single market which the Community plans for after 1992.

A separate proposal would provide ;- more than SUSIOO million ($162 million) y for gene-splicing research in 1990-1994. e Under the patent proposal, which has o to be approved by the E.C.’s 12 govemy ments, researchers would get royalties 1, from breeders or farmers who use the genes for the 20-year life of the patent. r Many critics, including farmers, ani- >- mal rights activists and religious groups, p see the plan as the first step toward a world of mutated plants, animals and it maybe even fiumans. o They said gene-splicing patents would y weaken the genetic diversity crucial for i? the evolution of plants and animals and e worsen the gap between rich and poor farmers.

Since U.S. patent number 4736866, a mouse genetically bred to develop cancer, was granted to a team of American scientists in April last year, patent offices have been flooded with similar applications. Opponents complain that the new guidelines put the burden of proving patent infringement on those accused of illegally using patented stock, a reversal of the idea of innocence until proven guilty.

Other critics say gene patents will shut out vital pieces of genetic information from scientific circles, thus narrowing scientists’ ability to unlock genetic mysteries and improve on plant and animal breeds.