China Seed Intellectual Property Rights Alliance established

In order to strengthen the protection for intellectual property rights in the seed industry and improve the overall competitiveness of China’s seed industry, China Seed Intellectual Property Rights Alliance was officially established in Beijing on Nov. 30 under the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture.　

This Alliance was initiated by 53 influential agricultural research and teaching institutions, companies and social groups in the country. Its aim is to carry out IPR transfer, cross licensing and coordinate application through multiple cooperation approaches, such as resource sharing, collaborative action and self-disciplined mutual assistance, on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and thus promote clustering of IPR toward the industrial technical system, realize added value and win-win results, enhance the core competitiveness of the seed industry and boost agricultural development.

This Alliance will establish a well-designed seed IPR information sharing system to provide its members with accurate and scientific information and early warning on IPR, introduce IPR information and technology from other countries, and guide the investment in forward-looking seed research activities and the application of research results in the industry. It will also set up a seed IPR management system to offer its members support for IPR management affairs, such as investigation for establishment of projects, examination of research results and assessment of IPR value. In addition, it will build an electronic IPR trading platform to provide comprehensive services on patents, plant variety rights, germplasms and biological materials, such as exhibition and introduction, value assessment, auction and mortgage financing.