An overview of the appropriability mechanisms used in plant biotechnology industry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol7.iss8.1687Keywords:
genetically modified organisms, innovation, blocking patents, barrier to entryAbstract
This paper aims to discuss the main appropriability mechanisms used by biotech firms to avoid imitation and appropriate the economic benefits from crop innovations. To this end, we analyze the strategic links between the technological development of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and the ownership rights over plant transformation technologies. We also discuss a key case study - the legal battle between Monsanto and Syngenta by the control of the GMO crops derived from the GA21 gene. Our findings show that a system of blocking patents has been built basically through strategies relating to intellectual property mechanisms. As result, Monsanto's efforts to sue competitors for patent infringement have proved to be a successful barrier to entry in plant biotechnology industry.
Downloads
References
Arundel, A. (2001). The relative effectiveness of patents and secrecy for appropriation. Research Policy, 30(4), 611–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(00)00100-1
Chu, A. C. (2009). Effects of blocking patents on R&D: A quantitative DGE analysis. Journal of Economic Growth, 14(1), 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-009-9036-z
Cohen, W. M., Nelson, R. R., & Walsh, J. P. (2000). Protecting Their Intellectual Assets: Appropriability Conditions and Why U.S. Manufacturing Firms Patent (or Not) (Working Paper No. 7552). https://doi.org/10.3386/w7552
Fulton, M. E., & Giannakas, K. (2001). Agricultural Biotechnology and Industry Structure. Http://Www.Agbioforum.Missouri.Edu/V4n2/V4n2a08-Fulton.Htm.
Goeschl, T., & Swanson, T. (2003). Pests, Plagues, and Patents. Journal of the European Economic Association, 1(2–3), 561–575. https://doi.org/10.1162/154247603322391206
Graff, G. D., Rausser, G. C., & Small, A. A. (2003). Agricultural Biotechnology’s Complementary Intellectual Assets. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 85(2), 349–363. https://doi.org/10.1162/003465303765299864
Heller, M. A., & Eisenberg, R. S. (1998). Can Patents Deter Innovation? The Anticommons in Biomedical Research. Science, 280(5364), 698–701. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5364.698
Laursen, K., & Salter, A. J. (2014). The paradox of openness: Appropriability, external search and collaboration. Research Policy, 43(5), 867–878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.10.004
Levin, R. C., Klevorick, A. K., Nelson, R. R., Winter, S. G., Gilbert, R., & Griliches, Z. (1987). Appropriating the Returns from Industrial Research and Development. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1987(3), 783–831. https://doi.org/10.2307/2534454
Marco, A. C., & Rausser, G. C. (2008). The Role of Patent Rights in Mergers: Consolidation in Plant Biotechnology. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 90(1), 133–151. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8276.2007.01046.x
Marengo, L., Pasquali, C., Valente, M., & Dosi, G. (2012). Appropriability, patents, and rates of innovation in complex products industries. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 21(8), 753–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2011.644666
Qaim, M. (2009). The Economics of Genetically Modified Crops. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 1(1), 665–694. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.resource.050708.144203
Qaim, M., & Traxler, G. (2005). Roundup Ready soybeans in Argentina: Farm level and aggregate welfare effects. Agricultural Economics, 32(1), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0169-5150.2005.00006.x
Rausser, G. (1999). Private/Public Research: Knowledge Assets and Future Scenarios. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 81(5), 1011–1027. https://doi.org/10.2307/1244079
Reitzig, M. (2004). The private values of ‘thickets’ and ‘fences’: Towards an updated picture of the use of patents across industries. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 13(5), 457–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/1043859042000188719
Shapiro, C. (2000). Navigating the Patent Thicket: Cross Licenses, Patent Pools, and Standard Setting. Innovation Policy and the Economy, 1, 119–150. https://doi.org/10.1086/ipe.1.25056143
Silveira, J. M. F., & Borges, I. C. (2012). Brazil: Confronting the challenges of global competition and protecting biodiversity. In The gene revolution (pp. 131–156). Routledge.
Teece, D. J. (1986). Profiting from technological innovation: Implications for integration, collaboration, licensing and public policy. Research Policy, 15(6), 285–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/0048-7333(86)90027-2
Wilson, J. (2007). GM Crops: Patently Wrong? Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 20(3), 261–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-007-9032-2
Yerokhin, O., & Moschini, G. (2008). Intellectual Property Rights and Crop-Improving R&D under Adaptive Destruction. Environmental and Resource Economics, 40(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9140-5
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2019 Vinícius Eduardo Ferrari, José Maria Jardim Ferreira da Silveira , Maria Ester Soares Dal-Poz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyrights for articles published in IJIER journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author for more visit Copyright & License.
How to Cite
