Title: Intellectual Property and Agriculture: The Case on Soybeans and Monsanto
Abstract: Developing countries had to implement Intellectual Property Rights on Agriculture after the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), in 1995. The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement (TRIPS agreement), one of the WTO treaties, requires members to adopt an effective mechanism to protect plants, either by patents or a sui generis system. I intend to show that developing countries have institutional weaknesses that make it possible for multinational companies to dominate their markets, using Intellectual Property Rights, even when these countries do not accept their patents. The complexity of patent law, mainly in new legal areas, such as Agriculture; the lack of knowledge among actors within the production chain and/or of judges deciding hard cases; and the long timeline to conclude court cases in developing countries increase the legal possibilities of companies to extend their market share through legal strategies. I outline, as well, how IPR applied to seeds, conceived to stimulate innovation in some cases, results in controlling the international market by some of the seed companies. This observation is true, whatever legal system is chosen to ensure the protection – patent or protection of varieties of plants (UPOV) – although the latter is less extensive.