Please join us for a webinar on Tuesday the 14th of November 2017 at 11:00 London time. The speaker is Charles Lawson, Griffith University Law School.

Abstract: The 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV Convention) introduced the concept of “essentially derived varieties” (EDVs) expanding the scope of the plant breeder’s right. The purpose of EDVs was to limit “plagiarism”, “copycat breeding”, “mimics”, “imitations” or “cosmetic” varieties, and an unfair free riding on the original plant breeder’s time and investment. The problem is how to find a measure of difference to distinguish an EDV from a new variety? The presentation addresses why the threshold legal question of EDV is more than a mere quantitative technical question requiring a technical answer, such as a statistical index or a DNA sequence. Possible solutions are presented from the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994 (Cth).

Bio

Charles Lawson is a Professor in the Griffith Law School and current member of the Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA) at Griffith University. He studied science and law at The Australian National University and holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours in biochemistry and genetics and a Bachelor of Laws. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the ANU's Research School of Biological Sciences in molecular biology and biochemistry and a Master of Laws from Queensland University of Technology for research into gene patenting and competition. Before joining the university sector he worked as a lawyer in both the private and public sectors, including at the Australian Government Solicitor and the Commonwealth Department of Finance and Deregulation. His research focus is on intellectual property and public administration law.