Prospects for International Cooperation

Abstract

At present, any assessment of the prospects of international cooperation towards the establishment of a legal system of protection for novel animal breeds is bound to be speculative and exploratory. In most countries outside the USA, the preparatory debate on this subject has not yet been launched in an open and public manner. In official circles responsible for agriculture, the desirability of some system of protection comparable to the plant variety right or the patent right is still at an early stage of consideration and, in view of the apparent sensitivity of the subject, most representatives of official patent circles are not keen to force a conclusion.