Protection of Plant Varieties in Iran

Iran passed its law for the protection of plant varieties and seeds in 2003. However, so far the department incharge of such registrations and protection is still grappling with the establishment of a proper system in handling such applications. Understandably, it is an unchartered territory for the agricultural department of Iran which will take time to establish.

We, Prime Intellectual Property Services, would like to provide brief on this issue for the assistance of our valued associaties and clients, who would like to file such applications in Iran and protect their plant or seed varieties in Iran:

1. The applicant can submit an official letter to the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture (along with a copy of a signed power of attorney) containing the following information:

- the name, occupation, nationality, and residential address of the applicant
- the suggested name of the plant variety
- the official description indicating the distinct specifications of the plant variety

The Ministry will then review the information provided and the particulars of the plant variety of interest and will then be able to assess whether the plant variety application can be filed at this stage in Iran. The Ministry will evaluate whether conducting a DUS test for the variety om question (a test for evaluating whether seed of such variety along with parental material conform with the criteria of Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability) is possible at this stage.

But having said that, it is important to note that this is a newly launched system in Iran and things have moved rather slow in this regard since the passing of the law. We therefore advise caution in applying for such registrations on the following grounds:

- Plant variety registration is still new to Iran and to Ministry of Agriculture in Iran that handles these applications.
- Priority in plant variety registration is currently given to the varieties of crops which are considered to be the most common in Iran such as apple etc.
- The guidelines of DUS test for kiwifruit do not exist at this stage in Iran
- The registration can take upto a minimum of 2 years and can be longer and protection is not extended until the official certificate of registration is granted
- In case of infringement, it is not known how effective and well versed the courts will be in deciding such matter, specially when the entire concept of plant or seed variety protection is new to Iran

Therefore, the applicants seeking to apply for the protection of plant or seed variety in Iran are strongly recommended (at least for the moment and till further notice on this blog) that they instead apply for a patent registration in Iran. This is possible by filing either a Paris Convention patent application (also known as Priority Patent Application) or a patent of importation.

A priority patent application/convention patent application can be filed if the same patent application has been filed in a Paris Convention member country and the application is not more than 12 month. Alternatively, an application for patent of importation can be lodged where it is required that the same patent is already registered in another jurisdiction outside Iran (not necessarily in a Paris Convention member country).

Patent applications are both smooth and can be comparatively a safer bet in terms of protection against infringement as courts as far more familiar with patent cases than plant or seed variety infringement cases. Also, the time period for the registration of a patent is far less (maximum of 1 year and often less from the time complete documents have been submitted) as compared to plant or seed varieties' registration.

For more information or documents required for filing any type of applications, please contact us.

Valuing intellectual property

Patents may be at the root of scientific and technological advances and national prosperity, but it’s been tough to actually put a price tag on their value.

But two former Microsoft Corp. managers are trying to do just that. Edward Jung and Nathan Myhrvold started Intellectual Ventures, which they call an "invention capital" company, in Bellevue, WA, several years ago. It's an IP bazaar where buyers can purchase patent portfolios to turn into products. By aggregating patents, Intellectual Ventures also aims to stimulate invention both in house and in the patents it buys or licenses from corporations, universities and others throughout the world.

Over time, it intends to market its "invention portfolio" on a broad and non-exclusive basis through a variety of channels including spin-out companies.

"There is a balkanization of the innovation supply," Edward Jung, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Intellectual Ventures, told an audience of technology transfer managers and investors recently at an IBF seminar at Boston University. "Now there is cross-institutional, global development."

Jung said that in the Golden Age of invention in the past hundred years, a single genius like Edison could found multiple industries with his ideas. Now one person can't hold everything necessary to do that in his or her head; it takes multiple people, often across multiple institutions or labs and geographies. And it's become more expensive and complicated to fund complex new technologies.

Lessons learned from software

The company's idea of aggregating patents came from the software industry. "An operating system is an aggregation of technology," Jung explained. "Companies don't want to license 10,000 patents individually."

When Intellectual Ventures accumulates patents for portfolios, it also aims to develop long-term relationships with customers, so it can provide the IP needed to update products. Customers can include corporations and even venture capitalists aiming to bring IP into their investments. "We want to be a supplier of IP for the long term, for example, a product line with versions that go into the future," Jung said. "We have a wide list of IP available to customers."

The result of the increasingly complex patent landscape means corporations will have to change the way they view IP and manage it.

"Companies will manage invention in a new way," explained Jung. "There will be faster innovation and better risk management." Jung, a former chief architect at Microsoft, himself holds more than 70 patents and has more than 500 patents pending. His issued patents are in the areas of biomedical research instruments and neural networks, as well as several fundamental patents in object technology, distributed operating systems and semantic data analysis.

IP liquidity

There's still a learning curve about IP in many industries and in academia. As in the early software industry, when software was copied liberally by large and small corporations alike, there is an educational element to convincing buyers and industry participants that IP is valuable and worth protecting, Jung said.

"IP is the most valuable thing for a company, but very few people invest in IP," said Jung. "We aggregate IP. But there is not a liquid way to price things, which is a challenge we'll have to address in the next decade. Patents don't hold value until they are turned into products."
In the cases of university professors, some tend to overvalue their own patents when negotiating to transfer technology. "A small number of universities are experienced in spinning out companies," said Jeff Andrews, a partner with venture capital company Atlas Ventures in Waltham, MA, who also spoke at the Boston University event. "But the value of IP can be a disconnect."

Frederick Farina, assistant vice president at Caltech in Pasadena, CA, agreed. "There's a certain greed factor from universities. The value of IP can be overstated."

When they started the company in 2000, Jung and co-founder Myhrvold, former chief technology officer for Microsoft, expected to source IP from bankrupt companies. But they ended up sourcing more from universities and Fortune 100 companies that are leaving a business and want to get money for their IP. Inventors get up front money and a portion of the profits, which in turn gives them liquidity to fund future inventions.

"We may be a good alternative [to venture capitalists] if an invention is too early," Jung said. "We are complementary to venture capitalists [which also can be customers]." Intellectual Ventures also is working on its first spin-out company and talking to venture capitalists about investing.

Also complementary to Intellectual Ventures' operations is patent auctioneer Ocean Tomo. "An auction is a great way of setting prices. We’ve participated in Ocean Tomo auctions...as buyers and sellers," Jung said.

Patent changes

Changes to the US patent system (see sidebar) are making ripples across universities and private companies, as well as in legal and other circles. Some, like Ashley Stevens, director of the Office of Technology Transfer at Boston University, said the new patent legislation, which takes effect on November 1, could make it more difficult to fund early stage companies, in which IP is a critical factor to success in drawing funding and protecting intellectual assets going forward.
Jung worries more about what the patent situation means in terms of diminishing US competitiveness. He pointed to the potential for increasing overseas desire to get value from IP. For example, Chinese company Lenova, which bought personal computer operations from IBM, gets $2,000 every time a laptop computer is bought, Jung said. But most of the profits go to the United States, to Microsoft and IBM. "With their IP positions, they get the lion's share of the profit," he said. "China and other countries envy the US IP economy. If we start impairing our IP economy we may open up too much IP to foreign companies."

Source: http://bulletin.sciencebusiness.net/ebulletins/showissue.php3?page=/548/art/9093&ch=1&print=1

US says intellectual property work with China suffers after WTO complaints

China has become less willing to cooperate with the United States in some intellectual property areas after US complaints at the World Trade Organisation, a senior US official said Wednesday.
Jon Dudas, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property, said it was not the right way forward, urging China to focus on fields where the two sides share common concerns.

"Since April when the United States sought dispute resolution at the WTO over (intellectual property) issues, we've seen increased cooperation in some areas, but we've seen cooperation in other areas slow," he told a forum in Beijing.

"We don't think it's the right way forward. The WTO dispute resolution is an opportunity to resolve disputes that we otherwise couldn't resolve, but there are many, many issues on which we share common concerns and we need to find common solutions."

Washington filed a complaint with the WTO against China in April, alleging China's legal regime for protecting and enforcing copyright and trademark protections was unfairly deficient.
Chinese-made counterfeit goods -- from software and DVDs to luxury leather goods and watches -- are widely available in the US market.

"I want to emphasise that the US request for WTO dispute resolution was not intended to be a substitute for deep and important bilateral cooperation on a full range of intellectual property issues," Dudas said.

"Rather, the WTO mechanism is supposed to help us resolve specific disputes that we have not been able to solve bilaterally."

Source: http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/us-says-intellectual-property-work-with-china-suffers-after-wto-complaints/20075224-160g.html

China accepts WTO amendment to enhance access to drugs

China's top legislature accepted on Sunday an amendment to the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) to enhance access to medicines when dealing with public health emergencies.

The amendment, approved by WTO members on December 6, 2005, allows countries to override patent rights when necessary to export life-saving drugs to developing countries that face public health crises but cannot produce drugs for themselves.

The amendment also makes permanent the flexibility of developing and least developed members to produce or import generic copies of patented drugs to deal with epidemics."

The amendment will play a positive role in balancing relations between intellectual property rights protection and public health promotion, helping developing and least developed countries to deal with public health problems as well," said Ma Xiuhong, Vice Minister of Commerce, when briefing lawmakers on the importance of the approval.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said the agreement to amend the TRIPS provisions confirms once again that members are determined to ensure the WTO trading system contributes to humanitarian and development goals.

The amendment will be formally incorporated into the TRIPS Agreement when two thirds of the WTO members have ratified it. The WTO said members have set themselves until December 1, 2007 to do this. The waiver remains in force until then.

The bill was submitted last Wednesday to a five-day session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for deliberation.

Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-10/29/content_6212799.htm