Bejo and Rijk Zwaan announce licensing deal on traits in vegetables

Earlier, in September 2016, Rijk Zwaan announced that it had reached an extensive cross-licensing agreement with Syngenta. Rijk Zwaan, Syngenta and Bejo are all founding members of the International Licensing Platform Vegetable (ILP). The ILP makes vegetable-related innovations widely available to breeders through an open access approach that offers members access to patents on traits under fair and reasonable conditions. The ILP currently has 13 members and is open for new seed companies and public research institutes to join.

John-Pieter Schipper, director of Bejo, said: “With this agreement in combination with the ILP, Rijk Zwaan and Bejo have restored the full breeders’ exemption between them. We strongly believe that open access to genetics will contribute to long-term preservation of biodiversity and food security. At the same time this agreement strengthens the innovative capacity of both companies, which will ultimately benefit the market.”

Ben Tax, director of Rijk Zwaan, commented: “This agreement enables us to use each other's plant varieties for breeding purposes, even in cases where the plant material falls under the scope of a patent, and then to market the newly developed varieties. This is a clear win-win deal and one that is excellent for growers and consumers. Open innovation in breeding is essential for the global food supply.”