Juridifying the self-replicating to commodify the biological nature future: Patents, contracts and seeds

Abstract

This article traces recent decisions about patents over seeds to examine the special property rules that maintain controls over the second and subsequent generation (or progeny) seeds derived from planting and harvesting the first-generation seeds. The analysis demonstrates (1) that licences might be used to avoid patent exhaustion and control the future uses of self-replicating seeds, and (2) failing this, that self-replication is a separate (re)making of the invention that maintains the patent and control. The effect of maintaining controls through contract and patents is then to juridify the self-replicating to commodify the biological nature future.