Biotech specialists from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys have moved to reassure British pig farmers that a patent granted by the European Patent Office applies only to a selection process, not to a particular breed of pig’s genetic make-up. The reassurance was prompted by a demonstration by German pig farmers outside the European Patent Office’s premises in Munich on Wednesday, 15 April.
"German pig farmers wanted the patent revoked because they were concerned that they might have to pay royalties on their pigs," explained Jon Gowshall, a member of CIPA’s Biotechnology Committee. "Wednesday was the day before the deadline for submitting objections to the EPO, who have said that the pig farmers’ comments will be considered, along with the 13 formal oppositions they have received."
The German pig breeders fear that the patent will compel them to pay royalties to an American biotech company, Newsham Genetics, who acquired rights to a patent when they took over all Monsanto’s pig-breeding technology in 2007. The patent relates to a selection process that relies on a genetic marker for identifying pigs that fatten quickly and produce juicier meat. Only certain pigs carry the gene in question, which itself is not patented or patentable.
"Pig breeders will not have to pay royalties just because their animals have the same genetic trait as the one described in the patent," said Jon Gowshall. "Only the selection process is patented. Neither the gene itself, its sequence, the kit used nor any animal identified by the method are protected by the patent."
An EPO spokesman, Mr René Osterwalder, said on Wednesday that it was "normal to pay royalties for using a test," adding, "The question is - how far does the breeder’s right go in using the test?" The EPO grants patents in line with EU rules, but all the consequences fall under national law, he said, so the rules for pig breeders in the UK may differ from those in Germany or other EU states.
"To put it simply," said patent attorney Jon Gowshall, "pig breeders who use the particular test specified in the patent are likely to have to pay royalties to Newsham Genetics. But if they use other methods to select pigs that carry the gene specified in the patent, they won’t have to pay. The gene itself isn’t patented and, in Europe, you can patent an animal only if it is transgenic - that is, an animal with an artificially modified gene. Therefore pig breeders will not have to pay a royalty to Newsham Genetics for the pigs themselves, only if they use the patented test to select them"
