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Old January 5, 2016   #63
bower
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred Hempel View Post
The OSSI pledge may be well-intentioned response to real problems in agriculture, but I would argue it is silly to think it does anything for OP breeders (other than freely providing them with material they can use to breed with, strictly for fun).

This is what is requested:

Through our Pledge, OSSI asks breeders and stewards of crop varieties to pledge to make their seeds available without restrictions on use, and to ask recipients of those seeds to make the same commitment.

How can a document calling on a breeder to immediately release all of their varieties with NO RESTRICTIONS protect a breeder? It does nothing to reward innovation of a breeder.

Frankly, it gives all power to seed producers and retailers who now have to pay nothing to the breeder. The retailers now have a nice story (Emancipated Seed!), but the breeder has been stripped of rights.

What other type of craftsman is bullied and shamed into releasing their workmanship for free?
I went back to their FAQ page, and I think it may have changed since I first saw it.
In any case you are right that the pledge would prevent a PVP or other intellectual property rights. "Incompatible with "Plant Breeders Rights" crikey. Incompatible with rights but not opposed to arrangements..
"Is OSSI against intellectual property rights?

Users of OSSI seed have the freedom to reproduce that seed for their own use and for sale, and to use the seed in research and breeding. In that respect, the OSSI Pledge is incompatible with the intellectual property rights as currently applied to plants such as utility patents, Plant Variety Protection, Plant Breeders Rights, and Material Transfer Agreements that limit the rights of seed recipients to produce seed for replanting, for sale, and for use in research or breeding. OSSI is not opposed to arrangements that require sharing the benefits of new varieties with the breeder, as long as those arrangements do not restrict the freedom to use the seed.
"

As far as I know, the only intellectual property that restricts the freedom to use seed including OP's and commercial hybrids is when there's a genetic tag involved. No one else is imposing restrictions, or am I wrong? So why isn't the elephant squarely named? I'm sure there's much more to it because I don't know about the existing protections nor what is happening with Material Transfer agreements either.

I am personally opposed to the patenting of DNA, and certainly to banging out proprietary genetic tags with a CRISPR to own the progeny of the seed, which may be up and coming. OSSI certainly covers that but also toss away all intellectual property rights.
Indeed reading a little further, I see that they initially intended to develop a license, but instead went with a non-legally binding 'pledge' - a pledge that bans other licenses.
Alright after a load of reading I'm back where I started. It isn't clear to me!

Fred, you're wrong that other craftsmen aren't bullied and shamed into giving up work for free. Rest assured, the garage band that refuses to play benefit concerts will be ostracized.

Last edited by bower; January 5, 2016 at 05:27 PM. Reason: used italic to show the quote
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