No Patents on Seeds!

To protect the existing natural gene pool as the foundation for new, organically bred varieties, we kindly ask for your support today.

A multinational corporation is currently claiming exclusive rights to tomato plants resistant to Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (TBRFV or ToBRFV). These plants were developed in an affected region through conventional breeding lines, selected and propagated by self-pollination. The submitted patent violates existing patent law and reveals that the European Patent Office (EPO) does not adequately distinguish between conventional breeding and genetic engineering.

What does this mean for us?
Breeders like ReinSaat are losing free access to the genetic resources of conventionally bred or native (wild) plants. The abundance of the natural gene pool—essential for developing new open-pollinated varieties—is no longer accessible. Instead, we may soon find ourselves entangled in a thicket of patents that threaten our existence with legal uncertainty, high licensing fees, and monopoly claims.

This is why, in cooperation with numerous breeding and seed companies, we are supporting the opposition to European Patent EP 3629711 B1.
Seed quality is food quality.

That’s why we need your voice!