Agrecol initiative to liberate seeds through open-source licence – THE GFAR BLOG

"Since 2013, a working group made up of plant breeders, agricultural scientists and lawyers has been exploring possibilities of applying the open-source principle developed in the field of information technology to crop seed. It aims to show a way to legally protect seed as a common good. This would provide a mechanism based on common property rights that would countervail the increasing monopolisation of seed. The working group developed a licence that offers an alternative to the conventional protection of intellectual property rights. It prevents privatisation of seed and makes it possible that crop varieties can be used without variety protection or patents. The “open-source seed” (OSS) licence has now been published in a working paper in German and English that can be downloaded from the website of our Agrecol Association for AgriCulture & Ecology, an NGO Partner in GFAR"