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The Australian government has tightened its rules on patenting seeds after
being accused of biopiracy by farmers from developing countries. Rural
development groups criticised the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office in Canberra for
granting patents on more than a hundred varieties of seed from Asia, Africa and
Latin America
(This Week, 14 February, p 14).
Now agricultural researchers
applying for patents in Australia will have to disclose the origin of their
seeds and prove that they have bred different varieties.