Think twice about trying to grow your own from nursery stock: If the patent held by biotech firm Syngenta doesn’t get you, the indigenous-flora royalty supposedly owed to the government of Tanzania just might (Antony Barnett, “The new piracy: how West ‘steals’ Africa’s plants”, The Observer (UK), Aug. 27).
One Comment
I’ve never been too thrilled with being able to patent living things. If it can be shown that this plant exists in the wild then I think the patent should be disallowed. As far as this “developing countries” bit, what has been taken from them? Since when does a country own a type of plant? If you follow this line of thought, should every country that grows corn pay the countries in North America, where corn originated.
By patenting this plant, does this company also assume the liability for any ecological problems that it may cause? My bet is that the first time this issue is raised they will be quick to point out that this plant DOES occurr in Nature and they shouldn’t be held accountable.