17:37 04.09.2018

EBA asking to review intellectual property bill, remove provisions about patented crop protection agents

2 min read

The European Business Association (EBA) has asked the Verkhovna Rada and the Cabinet of Ministers to review a bill adapting Ukrainian legislation in the sphere of intellectual property to EU laws in part of rights to protect inventions and utility models (No. 7538) and remove a requirement about the use of patented crop protection agents.

According to the association's press release, in Ukraine there was a chance to introduce a rule in the legislation according to which the use of a patented invention, in particular, a crop protection agent, by a third party for research purposes would not be considered a violation of intellectual property rights. This is Paragraph 5 of Article 31 of Bill No. 7538 amending some legislative acts of Ukraine on improving the legal protection of inventions and utility models. The Verkhovna Rada discussed it on September 4, but the document did not receive the required number of votes in favor.

"So, on condition of the final adoption, there would be a possibility that unscrupulous generic (post-patent) producers could get access to registration and commercial use of patented active substances without permission (patentee)," the EBA said.

In the opinion of the association, the adoption of this bill in the current version could lead to the virtual impossibility to protect intellectual property rights in court.

"International producers of crop protection agents could probably stop introducing new generation products to the Ukrainian market, which, first of all, would affect Ukrainian farmers, because the reduction in access to innovative agrochemicals can lead to a decline in both quality and quantity of crops. This, obviously, would not add to the country's image in the international arena," the EBA Agrochemicals Committee said.

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