Developments in Agricultural Biotechnology
Developments in Agricultural Biotechnolog y
Keith D. Parr
Recommended Citation
Parr: Developments in Agricultural Biotechnology
KEITH D. PARRt
I.
INTRODUCTION
Significant advancements are being made in agricultural
biotechnology.' New advancements in genetic engineering and
testing methods have resulted in easier identification of
different plant varieties and have promoted the development of
transgenic plants and animals. 2 The intellectual property
t Partner, Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago, Illinois.
1. Biotechnology is "any technique that uses living organisms (or parts of
organisms) to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop
microorganisms for specific uses." JACK R. KLOPPENBURG, JR., FIRST THE SEED: THE
POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY 1492-2000 (1988) (using the
Congressional Office of Technology Assessment's definition of biotechnology).
2. A transgenic plant is "a plant which is transformed when a gene taken
directly from another plant or organism is physically inserted into it." John
Schoenemann, TransgenicPlants May Be In Your Future,AMERICAN VEGETABLE GROWER,
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rights in the new processes and products of biotechnology can
be protected. For example, plants are now subject to general
utility patent, as well as Plant Patent Act, Plant Variety
Protection Act, and trade secret protection. Courts have recently
decided several important cases pertaining to the protection of
plant varieties and processes.
Government regulation of agricultural biotechnology
continues to be an area of uncertainty. Although the United States
Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection
Agency and the Food and Drug Administration all have a hand
in the current regulatory structure, the agencies' individual
roles have not been well defined. The new administration,
particularly Vice-President Albert Gore, has expressed an
interest in reviewing the existing regulatory framework and
potentially proposing changes in the present regulatory scheme.4
This Article will discuss recent developments in agricultural
biotechnology. Additionally, the Article will discuss the
applicability of patent and trade secret protection to agricultural
developments and current government regulation of agricultural
biotechnology. Finally, the Article examines the subject of
future regulation.
A. Animal Biotechnology
Developments in animal agriculture are proceeding at a
somewhat different pace than developments in plant
biotechnology.5 Desired changes in animals can still be made
relaAug. 1992, at 21-22. See also Boyee Rensberger, Technique May FightDisease by
Reversing Instructions to Cells, WASH. POST, Jan. 4, 1993, at A3 (containing a description of
how a transgenic plant is formed).
3. See infra Part III.B.
4. Vice-President Gore has shown a great interest in the subject during his
terms in the Senate and in the House. In his recent book, Vice-President Gore
proposed the development of a Strategic Environment Initiative to discourage and phase
out older technologies. Gore also called for the development of a new generation of
environmentally benign substitutes. AL GORE, EARTH IN THE BALANCE 140, 319
(1992). See also Alex Barnum, Biotech Poses Key Testfor ClintonAdministration: New
Leadership Faces a Balancing Act Between the Environmentaland High-Tech Sectors, SAN. FRAN.
CHRON., Jan. 4, 1993, at BI (discussing possible action of Clinton administration in
biotechnology industry).
5. John M. Czarnetzky, Altering Nature's Blueprintfor Profit Patenting Multicellular
Animals, 74 VA. L. REV. 1327, 1329-30 (1988).
1993]
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tively quickly through conventional breeding and selection
techniques. 6 In just a few years, size, muscling, and
conformation traits can be bred into large numbers of animals to
significantly alter the attributes of any breed.
While advancement in the genetic engineering of animals
has not yet progressed to the levels achieved in plant research,
transgenic animals are on the horizon.7 Ethical concerns that
have slowed the short term progress may continue into the
near future.8 Among these ethical concerns are human control
of life, maintenance of species integrity, and economic equity. 9
Because many of these arguments predate patenting animal
technology it is unclear what, if any, new issues patenting will
add to these ethical concerns.' 0
B.
Plant Biotechnology
1. Identification and Labeling of Plant Varieties
The identification and labeling of plant varieties is an
important issue for the seed industry, the government, and
farmers."1 Proper labeling is essential to maintain fair competition
and to prevent misrepresentation of seed varieties.12 The
Federal Seed Act, enacted in 1939,'1 and regulations promulgated
under the Act,' 4 require labeling by varietal name. These
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