EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 53 REGULATORY KEEPING YOU INFORMED OF LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY CHANGES IN EUROPE AND ABROAD — FROM LAWSUITS TO APPROVALS TO OTHER REGULATORY ISSUES AFFECTING YOUR BUSINESS. NATIONAL COPA & COGECA WELCOME EU MINIS- TERS MOVE TO ACT AGAINST THE USE OF PATENTS Copa & Cogeca welcomed EU Ministers move to act against the use of patents on plants bred via essentially biological processes, saying that they have constantly stressed that patent law is not the right instrument for the EU agriculture sector. The move comes after EU Ministers for Competition adopted Council conclu- sions, which supports recommendations from the European Commission. The Commission issued a notice in November, which underlined that plants that are obtained by means of “essentially biological” breeding techniques are not patentable. This recommendation works against the practices of the European Patent Office (EPO), which has already authorized many patents using essentially biological processes like patents on toma- toes and broccoli. “Ministers position is therefore a positive step”, Thor Kofoed Chairman of the Seed Working Party said. “All genetic resources must be available to all breed- ers breeding programmes, so that they can develop the best quality new varieties for the future needs of the EU’s modern and diverse agricultural sector. We must remember that we have a good Community Plant Variety Right (CPVR) system in the EU, which grants intellectual property rights to new plant varieties and pro- vides royalties to finance the breeding programmes, so patents are unnecessary here”, he insisted. “We consequently welcome govern- ments calls and want to ensure that the European Patent Office (EPO) respects the Commission’s recommendation in order to ensure that plants bred via essentially biological processes do not come under the scope of patent law”, Copa & Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said. INTERNATIONAL FP GENETICS AND SECAN REACH JOINT PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS SETTLEMENT FP Genetics and SeCan announced Feb. 23 the settlement of a joint Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) case between FP Genetics/ SeCan and Dustin Hawkins near Kincaid, Saskatchewan. The settlement relates to unauthorized advertisements and sales of PBR protected varieties AC® Transcend and AC® Strongfield durum. While full details of the settlement are not available, the parties have agreed to a cash settlement that includes com- pensation for royalties, legal and investi- gative costs, as well as a declaration there will be no additional unauthorized sales. “Seed sellers need to be aware of the rules – if a variety is protected by PBR, it is protected whether you call it common seed or you call it by the variety name,” stated Rod Merryweather, CEO of FP Genetics. “Infringers need to be aware - it is not just a matter of paying royalties owing when you get caught. Settlement normally includes royalties, investigative and legal costs, and other damages, which can result in very substantial payments.” NORTH DAKOTA SEED COMPANY FINED FOR SEED LAW VIOLATIONS The North Dakota State Seed Department has settled a case concerning state and federal seed law violations against a North Dakota seed producer for the illegal sale of a protected variety in 2016. The com- pany was fined $11,000 for illegally sell- ing 956 bushels of Gold ND flax, a North Dakota State University release. The vari- ety is protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) and Title V of the Federal Seed Act. Under the PVPA, the variety owner has exclusive rights to determine who may produce and market seed of its protected varieties. Title V pro- hibits the sale of seed that is not certified by an official seed certifying agency if the variety owner has specified that seed be sold only as a class of certified seed. "The Gold ND flax seed in this case had been field-inspected by the State Seed Department, but final certification had not been completed; therefore, the seed was not legally labeled for sale," says Steve Sebesta, North Dakota State Seed Department deputy seed commissioner. "Several North Dakota seed laws, prin- cipally labeling requirements, were also violated." DOW AGROSCIENCES AND MS TECH- NOLOGIES RECEIVE PATENT FOR UNIQUE GENE INSERTION IN ENLIST E3 SOYBEANS Technology innovation and integration help advance modern agriculture, and an example of this progress comes from Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), and MS Technologies, LLC, as the companies announce receipt of a signifi- cant patent covering soybean plants and seeds containing the innovative Enlist E3™ event. U.S. Patent No. 9,540,655 acknowledges the proprietary work done to develop new soybean products toler- ant to three herbicides’ modes of action, providing farmers significantly improved cropping systems to address resistant and hard-to-control weeds. The ability to combine multiple herbicide tolerance genes of interest in a single location in high-performing soybean genetics ulti- mately benefits farmers through bringing forward improved products like Enlist E3 soybeans.