Why are vegetable seeds protected by Intellectual Property Rights?


Plant breeding is a highly sophisticated and cost-intensive business. Depending on the crop, the R&D process takes on average 5 to 15 years. The breeder will seek to protect it intellectual property protection, most often through Plant Variety Rights (or called Plant Breeders’ Rights), to cover many of the new varieties they develop.

Plant Variety Rights protection helps to ensure that seed companies are paid for their products and for the investments they put into developing them. They sell these proprietary products in the market using business models that reinforce their commitments to reinvest, provide a return to their shareholders and generate income for their employees. AIB members re-invest a high percentage of their sales revenues, amounting to millions of Euros per day, in research and development that ultimately benefits growers and consumers.

No business can survive without being paid for its products or services and we maintain rigor in assuring the success of the business models our members implement to deliver their products and services to the market.

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