*[Enwl-eng] Carlsberg is feeling the pressure
ENWLine
Hi,
I want to make sure you didn’t miss this. Last month, we stood up to the likes of Carlsberg, Bayer-Monsanto and Heineken, all companies who are tirelessly trying to own seeds and nature. We took to the streets of Munich, the headquarters where the rights to seeds (patents) are given.
After our protest, Carlsberg dropped one of its patents on a certain type of barley.
But Carlsberg still has many other applications to patent other types of barley. Plus, other companies like Bayer-Monsanto or Heineken are currently using the same loopholes in patent law to claim ownership over our fruits, vegetables and seeds.
So, it’s up to us to use this moment to keep up the pressure. Together, we can make sure the European Patent Office closes these loopholes and Carlsberg drops all of its patents!
195,710 of us have already signed from the WeMove Europe community and beyond. [1] We’re having an impact but we can’t stop now. WIll you add your name?
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Free the seeds! Save the future of our beer and food.
David (London), Giulio (Rome), Annemarie (Berlin) and the entire WeMove Europe team
[1] Partners include No Patents on Seeds and Umweltinstitut Munchen e.V.
In case you missed it, here is the original email below:
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Together we got the European Patent Office (EPO) to stop patents on all plant seeds so that they belong to all of us and cannot be owned for profit. But corporations found a loophole that would cancel our win. The EPO meets next week, act now to ask them to scrap this loophole. |
Hi,
No one should be able to own the exclusive right to grow and sell fruits and vegetables. It sounds obvious but this is what we fought to prevent for over four years. And we won. Last year, the European Patent Office (EPO) officially accepted that conventionally bred plants are not patentable. [1]
But companies like Bayer-Monsanto, DowDupont, Heineken and Carlsberg have found ways to undo that win by finding legal loopholes to register new patents on melons or barley. [2]
What they are doing is pretty sneaky: it’s called ‘technical topping’ and it’s a way to exploit the loopholes introduced by the EPO. [3] While patents on conventionally bred plants are prohibited, patents on breeding by means of genetic engineering, including new methods such as genome editing can be patented. [4]
Now companies can try to blur the distinction between conventional breeding and genetic engineering. In practice, this means that seeds to make beer or melons can still be claimed as an invention.
We already got the EPO to listen to us through a huge petition, filing thousands of complaints against a patent on tomatoes, and a protest in Munich at the Oktoberfest beer festival. [5]
As the EPO meets next week, it’s time to remind them that we’re still here and we won’t allow them to cancel our win. Right before they meet, our partners will dress up as screaming vegetables (see photo below) in front of EPO’s office in Munich and hand over our signatures.
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Patents create monopolies: fruits, vegetables and seeds claimed in patents cannot be used by other farmers for further breeding without the permission of the patent holder. This means that a handful of large corporations get far-reaching control over our daily food production - they can decide what we eat, what farmers produce, what retailers sell and how much we all have to pay for it.
Our partners "No patents on seeds" recently protested in front of the
German Ministry of Justice
and will soon bring their screaming vegetables in
protest in front of the EPO’s office in Munich.
If these patents are not stopped, small farmers will become more and more dependent on big companies that can control access to seeds for further breeding. The EPO needs to take action as soon as possible, before the likes of Bayer-Monsanto and DowDupont own the exclusive rights to fruits, vegetables and seeds. Let’s make sure the EPO stands strong, and does not allow any more patents on seeds until they close these loopholes.
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After more than four years of campaigning to stop patents on seeds, our efforts put an end to years of complete legal absurdity and chaotic decision-making at the EPO. Corporations fought tooth and nail, lobbying, spending a lot of money to beat us, but our people power prevailed. As corporations try to find loopholes, let’s make sure our voice stays strong, again. Save the future of food, sign now!
With hope,
David (London), Giulio (Rome), and the entire WeMove
Europe team
References
[1]
https://www.epo.org/law-practice/case-law-appeals/communications/2020/20200514.html
https://www.sdhsprogram.org/european-patent-office-plants-animals-obtained-classical-breeding-not-patentable/
[2]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/sites/default/files/news/No%20patents%20on%20seeds%20-%20Overview%202018-2019_1.pdf
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/publications/report2021
[3]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/news/G3-19
[4]
https://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/news/report2020
[5]
https://www.wemove.eu/big-win-patents
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate
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