Intellectual Property Rights for Agricultural Biotechnology: Piracy and Its Ramifications for U.S. Agriculture

Authors

Konstantinos Giannakas, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

October 2001

Comments

Published in Cornhusker Economics. October 17, 2001. Produced by the Cooperative Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln .

Abstract

Parallel revolutions in molecular biology and the legal framework that assigns intellectual property rights (IPRs) to plant genetic resources have resulted in the emergence of agricultural biotechnology and the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products into the food system. IPRs create economic incentives for research and development by making the innovator the residual claimant of the benefits associated with the new technology.