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A Rural Computing Research Consortium/Quello Center joint event.
Between June and September of 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) accepted public comments on whether a statutory law should be established to allow an experimental use exception for products protected by utility patents. This problem has emerged because of conflicting court decisions over whether scientific research on patented products constitutes patent infringement. Agricultural crops were immune to these concerns until the 1980s, when utility patents began to be applied to living organisms. Prior to this, crops were protected by the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA), which enabled plant breeders to derive income from new plant varieties, but it also allowed for research exceptions and for the breeding of new varieties from those varieties protected by the PVPA without having to pay a licensing fee. Neither of these practices is allowed when a variety is protected with a utility patent. The ostensible justification for utility patents on agricultural crops is that it promotes scientific innovation by providing the chance to benefit economically from investments in research and development of new crop varieties. However, scholars are increasingly questioning if utility patents are becoming so restrictive that they are limiting innovation.
This presentation will describe the research that Dr. Glenna has done that led to the submitting of a public comment to the USPTO advocating for a statute that provides a research exemption. Furthermore, he will outline some potential policy changes that could promote more agricultural innovation, including the possibility of ending the use of utility patents on agricultural crops
Leland Glenna is a Professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology & Society at The Pennsylvania State University. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1997, an M.Div. from Harvard University in 1992, and a B.A. from Hamline University in 1989. His research focuses on the social and environmental impacts of agricultural sciences and technologies, especially the role of science and technology in agricultural and natural resource policymaking. Additionally, he examines the ethical implications of democratizing scientific research. Glenna has contributed to a report for the National Academies of Sciences on genetically engineered crops, and he has served as the president of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society.