IP rights on bulls ‘not a new concept’

AI companies have said that the move to enforce new intellectual property (IP) rights on their sire progeny is not a new concept internationally, or in Ireland.

From this spring on, the highest EBI bulls in Ireland will be IP protected, meaning sons and daughters of those bulls can only be sold to other AI companies with the permission of the company whom they bought the AI straw from.

The move essentially prevents farmers selling bull calves with high EBI to other or foreign AI companies.

This has sparked reaction from farm organisations who’ve said that the rights of the farmer who breeds and owns the animal must be recognised.

Eurogene

Larry Bourke, CEO of Eurogene told the Irish Farmers Journalthat most of the large international AI companies have already introduced IP for their top bulls.

“Many farmers and indeed AI companies in Ireland have purchased semen from these IP-protected bulls.

“ Eurogene’s decision to introduce the Gene+ Programme is a positive move for the industry ,” he said.

Bourke added that it will ensure that “we can continue to offer our elite bulls to commercial farmers who recognise the value they can bring to their own farm enterprises while ensuring the investment we have made in breeding programme that deliver them is protected”.

Progressive Genetics

Progressive Genetics has said that it has introduced IP rights on its elite bulls in order to safeguard the Irish genetics industry and retain control of the industry in Irish farmers’ hands.

“This is the route that almost all of the large international AI companies have gone down to protect the investment they have made in developing elite bovine genetics and Ireland needs to bring itself into line with this international best practice,” a spokesperson for Progressive Genetics told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Munster Bovine has said that the introduction of IP rights is a preventative measure designed to protect the investments made in genetic development by restricting the sale of IP-protected genetics to other AI companies who want to use them for their own breeding programmes.

“The introduction of IP rights now will help to ensure that our best genetics remain in farmer control through the co-operative structure,” a spokesperson said.

Dovea Genetics has said that the openness of the ICBF database means that Irish bovine genetics are highly accessible.

“The advent of new technology and international competition means that Ireland’s elite genetics are open to replication and multiplication by third parties who might neither contribute to their development nor collaborate with the Irish industry stakeholders,” a spokesperson said.

The IP rights, they said, ensure that Irish farmers maintain the competitive advantage built through decades of investment in our genetics industry.

Cross-licences

To reassure farmers that there will be competition between AI companies for bull calves, Dovea said it has proposed to establish cross-licence agreements with other AI companies “in which we will grant each other permission to purchase our IP bulls”.