Which is the regulatory framework for seeds in Argentina? And in the world? What intellectual property instruments exist? How do they affect the Argentine seed system? What problems does it have? How is a crop registered in Argentina? And a creole seed?
Those of us working with seeds often find ourselves navigating a complex legal landscape. To shed light on these challenges and provide answers, we have launched a training series, with the first two sessions now available on YouTube. The series attracted over 300 live participants and we are eager to share this valuable knowledge with a wider audience. Each session featured renowned experts who, under the moderation of Silvana Babbit, former president of the National Seed Institute (INASE), helped us better understand this intricate regulatory framework.
The first meeting, held on August 20th, was dedicated to understanding Argentina’s seed regulatory framework. Mariano Mangieri, Director of the Variety Register at INASE and a member of various UPOV working groups, delivered a presentation titled “Registration of Varieties in the National Registry of Cultivars and in the National Registry of Cultivar Property.” Following this, Alberto Ballesteros, an examiner at the Variety Register and a member of UPOV working groups, presented on “Creole Seeds, purity maintenance and public use cultivars.” Finally, Ana Julia Biaus, also an examiner at the Variety Register, discussed “Corn, sorghum and sunflower: requirements established in Resolution 108/97.” These three presentations provided new insights into Argentina’s seed legal system. Want to learn more? Watch the video to see all three presentations and the subsequent Q&A session. To skip to a specific presentation, check the video description for timestamps.
The second meeting, held on August 29th, focused on analyzing the global seed regulatory framework and its impact on the Argentine legal system. María Laura Villamayor, Director of Legal Affairs at INASE, Coordinator of Institutional Relations, and Technical Secretary of CONASE, as well as President of the Administrative and Legal Committee of UPOV, presented on “The regulatory framework concerning seeds and plant varieties in Argentina.” Subsequently, Juan Correa, a researcher associated with the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and CEIDIE-UBA, discussed “The legal fiction of plant intellectual property rights.” Juan’s presentation shed light on some of the challenges posed by the current intellectual property system and served as a trigger for Vanesa Lowenstein’s presentation on “Open-source seeds as an opportunity for participatory innovation.” So, how does the global seed regulatory framework affect the local system? Watch the video of the second meeting to find out! We encourage you to watch the entire video, but timestamps for each presentation are provided in the video description for your convenience.
If after watching the meeting you have any concern or there is any issue that you would like to be treated in another encounter, please reach us at info@bioleft.org
If you have any questions or suggestions for future meetings after watching the videos, please contact us at info@bioleft.org. We encourage you to follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter (in Spanish). We’re excited to announce our new podcast series, “Reencantar las semillas,” where we’ll dive into the challenges of seed intellectual property and explore potential solutions.