Intellectual property protection in plant varieties: A worldwide index (1961–2011)

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIn this paper, we construct a new index measuring the strength of intellectual property (IP) protection for plant varieties in 69 countries over the period 1961-2011. We examine the statistical properties of the index and compare it with other indicators of IP protection. We conclude that the index provides a reasonable synthetic assessment of the relative strength of IP protection in plant varieties across countries. In addition, we study the main determinants of the evolution of the index and examine the patterns of correlation between the index and agricultural production.

Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade of Agricultural Products

“…As a measure of IPRs, we used a yearly index developed by Campi and Nuvolari (2015) for the agricultural sector, which aggregates five components that indicate the strength of each country's IP protection system (IP Index). The index is based on a comparative historical perspective and it covers a set of countries that by 2011 had signed the UPOV convention and are characterized by a rather similar basic legal framework regulating plant variety protection and other agricultural products, which follows the general guidelines established by the UPOV and the TRIPS.…”

“…The five components of the index are: (i) ratification of UPOV conventions; (ii) farmers' exception; (iii) breeders' exception; (iv) protection length; and (v) patent scope (Campi & Nuvolari, 2015). The component patent scope indicates whether patents are allowed in five specific domains related to plant breeding and agriculture.…”

“…The index shows that the mean of protection has been steadily increasing over time, especially after the signing of the TRIPS agreement, and dispersion has fallen as developing countries have been adopting stronger IPRs systems during the last two decades (Campi & Nuvolari, 2015). This reflects the process of strengthening and harmonization of IPRs systems.…”

“…Therefore, using an IP protection index for the agricultural sector recently created by Campi and Nuvolari (2015), this paper explores the effect of strengthening IPRs systems in the agricultural sector for the post-TRIPS period (1995-2011) on traded volumes, bilateral trade flows and the margins of trade, for a set of 60 countries, which includes 28 developed and 32 developing countries.…”

Intellectual Property Rights and the Ascent of Proprietary Innovation in Agriculture

“…In particular, protection has increased relatively more in low-income and middle-income countries than in highincome countries (Campi and Nuvolari 2015). The wisdom of including IPRs in the WTO has been questioned (e.g., Panagariya, 1999;Srinivasan, 2002).…”