Plant patents: scholars try to teach TIPO a lesson

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) said that plant varieties should be included as patentable subject matter. This has attracted dissent from scholars and local plant and seed associations. They believe that the patenting of plants and seeds would restrict innovation in this area and deal a big blow to Taiwan’s Phalaenopsis orchid industry, which is said to be worth in excess of 10 billion Taiwan new dollars ($345 million).