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The public-private structure of intellectual property ownership in agricultural biotechnology

Graff G.D., S.E. Cullen, K.J. Bradford, D. Zilberman, A.B. Bennet Nature Biotechnology, vol. 21, pages 989-995 (2003)

Historically, investments in crop research and plant breeding have resulted in substantial public benefits worldwide. Because the benefits came largely in the form of improved crop varieties released publicly and requiring only small additional investments for local adaptation, production and marketing, the small potential for private returns historically left crop research and development (R&D) largely to public-sector research institutions. However, over the past two decades the application of molecular genetic approaches to crop R&D have dramatically changed this landscape. The economics of R&D in agricultural biotechnology have been similar to those of R&D in agrochemicals or pharmaceuticals, with universities specializing in basic research but lacking the resources or expertise needed for commercialization of products resulting from the new technologies, something which requires substantial investments in product development and biosafety testing.

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