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<h2 style="font-size:30px;line-height:130%;font-family:Trebuchet MS,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);display:block;font-weight:bold;margin:0px 0px 10px;text-align:left">
Monsanto patent on non-GM tomato fraudulent, says group</h2>
<p style="font-size:16px;line-height:130%;font-family:Trebuchet MS,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)">
A Monsanto patent on a non-GM disease-resistant tomato is fraudulent
because it implies the tomato is GM when it is not, says the No Patents
On Seeds group.<br>
<br>
EXCERPT: It was already known that these plants had the desired
resistance and they were simply crossed with other tomato plants.
Monsanto then produced a cleverly worded patent in order to create the
impression that genetic engineering had been used to produce
the tomatoes and to make it look 'inventive'.<br>
</p><p style="font-size:16px;line-height:130%;font-family:Trebuchet MS,Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)">
<strong>Opposition against European patent on tomatoes</strong><br>
Monsanto patent based on “fraud and abuse of patent law”<br>
No Patents On Seeds, 30 May 2014<br>
<a href="http://gmwatch.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=29cbc7e6c21e0a8fd2a82aeb8&id=f6fe257b2f&e=416efb9114" style="color:rgb(51,102,153);font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank">http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/en/information/news/opposition-against-european-patent-tomatoes</a><br>
<br>
Representatives of the international coalition No Patents on Seeds! from
France, Germany and Spain have filed an opposition against a European
patent held by Monsanto on conventionally bred tomatoes (EP1812575). The
patent claims tomatoes with a natural resistance
to a fungal disease called botrytis. The original tomatoes used for
this patent came from the international gene bank in Gatersleben,
Germany. It was already known that these plants had the desired
resistance and they were simply crossed with other tomato
plants. Monsanto then produced a cleverly worded patent in order to
create the impression that genetic engineering had been used to produce
the tomatoes and to make it look 'inventive'.<br>
<br>
“Because crossing tomatoes is not patentable, Monsanto deliberately
rephrased the patent during the period of examination to make it appear
as if genetic engineering was involved. However, careful reading of the
patent shows that this is simply fraudulent.
These tomatoes were not produced by transferring isolated DNA. The
European Patent Office should have picked up on this,” says Christoph
Then for No Patents on Seeds! “This patent shows just how easy it is for
companies like Monsanto to avoid existing prohibitions
in patent law.”<br>
<br>
According to patent law, “essentially biological processes for the
production of plants and animals” are excluded from patentability. On
the other hand, the European Patent Office routinely grants patents on
genetically engineered plants. Monsanto already holds
several hundred of these controversial patents. However, in this case,
the tomatoes were derived from normal crossing, as described in the
patent. Furthermore, it is very unlikely that such tomatoes can be
created by genetic engineering because resistance
to botrytis seems to be based on the combinatorial effects of several
genes within the genome of the tomatoes. The relevant gene sequences are
not known in detail. Thus, a desired gene combination can be achieved
by crossing whole genomes, but not by transferring
single isolated DNA sequences.<br>
<br>
The opponents have also accused Monsanto of biopiracy: The original
tomatoes came from an international gene bank in Germany that is
supposed to safeguard the seeds for the common good in further plant
breeding to ensure world food security. “Taking seeds from
international gene banks for filing patents on genetic resources and
their native traits is nothing less than theft, biopiracy and abuse of
patent law”, says Francois Meienberg for Berne Declaration. “Patents on
genetic resources stored in international seed
banks have huge implications for availability to farmers and other
breeders and can substantially hamper or even block access to plants
needed for further breeding.”<br>
<br>
The international coalition of No Patents on Seeds! is organising the
opposition. Part of the coalition are Bionext (Netherlands), The Berne
Declaration (Switzerland), GeneWatch (UK), Greenpeace, Misereor
(Germany), Development Fund (Norway), No Patents on
Life<br>
(Germany), Red de Semillas (Spain), Rete Semi Rurali (Italy), Reseau
Semences Paysannes (France) and Swissaid (Switzerland). The
organisations behind the No Patents on Seeds! coalition are concerned
that such patents will foster further market concentration,
making farmers and other stakeholders of the food supply chain more and
more dependent on just a few big international companies and ultimately
reduce consumer choice. No Patents on Seeds! is calling for a revision
of European Patent Law to exclude breeding
material, plants and animals and food derived thereof from
patentability. The coalition is supported by several hundred other
organisations.<br>
<br>
Contacts:<br>
Christoph Then, Tel 0049 151 54638040, <a href="mailto:info@no-patents-on-seeds.org" target="_blank">info@no-patents-on-seeds.org</a> Fran�ois Meienberg, Erkl�rung von Bern, <a href="mailto:food@evb.ch" target="_blank">food@evb.ch</a>, 0041 44277 7004</p>
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