IRRI's Policy on Intellectual Property Rights
Preamble
Whereas IRRI recognizes the indispensable role of farmers and scientists in developing countries in breeding and conserving the valuable genetic resources of rice;
Whereas the rice germplasm in the genebank at IRRI has been assembled over more than three decades through collaborative collecting missions between national programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and IRRI, or through donation of these materials by national programs and individual farmers and scientists for safety duplicate storage;
Whereas IRRI holds this germplasm in trust, with a responsibility to conserve, maintain, and distribute it for the benefit of agricultural research for the world community;
Whereas the Convention on Biological Diversity, together with the FAO International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, has created a changed international regime for genetic resources;
Whereas IRRI strongly believes in the conservation of plant genetic resources and desires to facilitate the free international flow of these resources;
Whereas IRRI wishes to bring to the developing nations and particularly to low income rice farmers in these nations the benefits of the most advanced biological technologies;
Whereas the private sector is becoming increasingly important in the development and dissemination of advanced biological technologies;
Whereas IRRI is a major contributor to a variety of other forms of technology development;
Whereas many of these technologies are subject to various forms of intellectual property protection; and
Whereas IRRI believes that its research should be supported by donors and that it should not look to any of its products or genetic materials as a source of financial income;
IRRI now adopts the following Principles governing its genetic resources, its innovations, and its cooperation with other research institutions.
Principles
1. IRRI will continue to make genetic resources that it holds in trust freely available, in accordance with the more detailed policy specified in PROTOCOL I.
2. In accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Agreement between IRRI and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Placing Collections of Plant Germplasm under the Auspices of FAO, IRRI will supply these genetic resources under a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) designed to ensure the free availability of the materials and of genes derived directly from them.
The Agreement with FAO was approved by the IRRIBoard, and signed on behalf of IRRI by Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, on 26 October 1994.
3. The genebank at IRRI will accept germplasm for long-term conservation that can be freely transferred in accordance with the MTA described in Principle 2. The genebank may accept materials for "black box storage" on which the donor of the germplasm has placed distribution restrictions only when refusal to accept such restrictions would endanger the long-term preservation of the rice germplasm. The genebank will consider requests for "black box storage" of germplasm of other seed-propagated crops in its Medium-Term (+5oC) storage facilities, on agreed terms.
4. All breeding materials, elite germplasm, and parental lines of hybrid rice that are derived from conventional breeding will also be made freely available. However, an MTA will be used for exchange of these materials with private sector organizations.
5. Any kind of information, invention, or biological material developed at IRRI will be made freely available, except in the cases specified in the following Principles. Where appropriate, publication or contractual provisions will be used to attempt to ensure that such information, invention, or material remain in the public domain.
6. Where it is essential to make advanced biological technologies available to developing nations, IRRI may accept limitations on distribution of the derived and associated materials, as specified in PROTOCOL III.
7. To ensure availability to developing nations of advanced biological technologies or biological materials such as microbial strains, IRRI will, exceptionally, apply for intellectual property protection for the technologies or materials, or provide them to a collaborator on a restricted basis, but only on the conditions specified in PROTOCOL III.
8. In the case of biological materials, it will make this application for intellectual property protection, distribute the materials, and exercise any rights in coordination with the source nation.
9. IRRI will continue to seek intellectual property protection on new agricultural equipment designs and will exercise its rights so as to ensure that these are freely available to developing nation farmers, as specified in PROTOCOL IV.
10. IRRI will continue to seek intellectual property copyright protection for its publications, databases, and software as appropriate, as specified in PROTOCOL IV.
11. Registration of the IRRI name and logo as trademarks shall be undertaken in order to obtain exclusive rights for the use thereof.
12. To live up to this Policy on Intellectual Property Rights, and any commitments it may make in pursuance of the Policy, IRRI will devise, maintain, and monitor employee policies on intellectual property rights (and, if necessary, signed employee agreements) and policies or agreements, to govern its relations with visitors and research collaborators (including visiting scientists and trainees) from other institutions.
13. In its biotechnology work and biotechnology-oriented collaborative agreements, IRRI will meet biosafety standards and include clauses designed to ensure that its collaborators meet such standards, and to protect itself as far as possible against any corresponding liabilities.
Protocol I: Intellectual Property Rights and rice genetic resources
1. The rice genetic resources maintained in the genebank at IRRI are held in trust for the world community.
2. IRRI adheres to the principle of unrestricted availability to the rice genetic resources it holds in trust, (except germplasm held under "black box storage" on which the donor of the germplasm has placed distribution restrictions) including related information.
3. IRRI will not protect the rice genetic resources it holds in trust by any form of intellectual property protection.
4. IRRI is opposed to the application of patent legislation to plant genetic resources (genotypes and/or genes) held in trust.
5. The rice genetic resources held in trust by IRRI will be made available on the understanding that the recipients will take no steps which restrict their further availability to other interested parties.
Protocol II: Intellectual Property Rights and breeding lines, elite germplasm and hybrid rice
1. IRRI adheres to the policy of free availability of the breeding lines, elite germplasm and parental lines of hybrid rice produced in its conventional breeding program.
2. IRRI will not seek intellectual property protection on the breeding lines, elite germplasm and parental lines of hybrid rice emanating from its conventional breeding program.
3. IRRI recognizes that the private sector is likely to play an increasing role in the development of rice technology and particularly of hybrid rice technology.
4. IRRI will provide breeding lines, elite germplasm and parental lines of hybrid rice to both the public sector institutions and the private organizations on the understanding that:
a. The material is not intended for exclusive use by any single organization.
b. IRRI retains the right to distribute the same material to other organizations.
c. The use of IRRI materials will be publicly recognized when a derived variety or hybrid is released.
5. Collaboration with profit-making organizations for the development of rice technology will proceed after consultation, where appropriate, with the authorities in the respective developing host country.
6. This Protocol does not cover materials derived from genetic engineering.
Protocol III. Intellectual Property Rights and inventions and materials derived from biotechnology
1. In negotiating collaboration arrangements for the development of products and techniques derived from biotechnology, IRRI will seek to ensure free access to the products of the research.
2. To make advanced biological technologies and techniques available to developing nations, IRRI may, but only to the extent necessary, and for a limited period, accept limitations on distribution of the derived and associated materials.
3. To ensure availability to developing nations of advanced biological technologies or biological materials such as microbial strains, IRRI will, exceptionally, apply for intellectual property protection of the technologies or materials or provide them to a collaborator on a restricted basis, but only after a specific judgment that such arrangements best serve IRRI's client developing nation farmers.
4. In obtaining and exercising any form of intellectual property rights over biological material, IRRI will seek in good faith to notify and consult with the nation or nations from which the material came.
5. In all of its biotechnology-associated work, IRRI will meet appropriate biosafety standards and include clauses designed to ensure as far as possible that its collaborators meet such standards and to protect itself against any corresponding liabilities.