Abstract
Against the backdrop of China’s seed industry revitalization strategy accelerating the development of genetically modified (GM) technologies, the intellectual property (IP) protection for GM crops faces dual theoretical and practical challenges. This study examines the balance mechanism between technological monopolies and public interests through analyzing patentability criteria for GM technologies and the DUS (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability) testing system under plant variety rights. It identifies three core institutional deficiencies: (1) the protection gap created by Article 25 of the Patent Law; (2) the lack of an essentially derived variety (EDV) system under the UPOV Convention 1978; and (3) the insufficient coordination with the Biosafety Law. Practically, the disconnection between variety registration and genetic patent examination standards has exacerbated administrative inefficiency, while legislative conflicts have resulted in overlapping rights, weakened variety protection, and legal disputes over the farmer-saved seed exemption. The study proposes systematic solutions including (1) extending genetic sequence protection through Patent Law amendments; (2) establishing EDV infringement determination rules aligned with the UPOV Convention 1991 standards; (3) creating specialized agricultural IP courts to unify judicial standards; and (4) implementing cross-departmental regulatory coordination to enhance enforcement. These measures aim to systematically achieve multidimensional objectives encompassing incentivizing technological innovation, ensuring germplasm security, and balancing public interests.
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