FAQ (pagina in inglese)

Open source is a solution against growing monopolisation. Seed used to be a commonly owned good, available for everyone. But it is now being concentrated in the hands of a few companies. Farmers, and society as a whole, are increasingly dependent on these firms. In addition, monopolies stifle innovation. And worse: a few widely grown varieties shrink the biological diversity that is vital for our existence.

Open source allows seed to be used without restrictions from patents or variety protection. But that does not mean there are no restrictions at all. Rather, open source protects seed from being privatised; it stays as a common good. There are clear rules: the user may sow open-source seed, multiply it, pass it on, and breed with it. The user must grant the same rights that he or she has enjoyed to future owners of the seed. This is also known as “copyleft”: any future enhancements or varieties based on the seed are subject to the same rules.

The open-source licence prevents the privatisation of newly developed plant genetic resources that have not yet been distributed (e.g. a new crop variety). The licence is a legally binding contract that makes it possible to pursue violations. A mere promise would not permit this. The licence contributes to the multiplication of common property and creates an alternative to the tide of privatisation.

A registered variety is one that is recognised and permitted by the state. It meets the “DUS” criteria of distinctiveness, uniformity and stability. For many agricultural varieties, cultural values also play a role. In many countries a variety must be registered before it can be traded or sold. This includes all countries in the EU.

An unregistered variety, such as local varieties and populations, is not officially recognised by the state. Neither uniformity nor stability is required, which means that breeders can continue to rely on genetic heterogeneity and evolutionary change. Unregistered varieties may only be exchanged in small quantities, but buying and selling is prohibited. The EU is currently working on ensuring that populations can also be registered for organic farming in a simplified way. 

The open-source licence presents a new alternative. It prevents claims to exclusive right and obliges the user to give others access to the variety free of charge. Any future enhancements or varieties based on the seed are subject to the same rules. Free access does not mean that open-source seed is free of cost. Seed producers still have to be remunerated.

It is a sad fact that in recent years the European Patent Office has increasingly allowed the patenting of plants and plant characteristics that occur in nature or are derived from normal breeding (that is, breeding without the use of genetic engineering). This is contrary to Article 53b of the European Patent Convention. The patent-granting procedure does not check for legal ownership or legally compliant behaviour. It does check if the variety is new, as novelty is required condition. Patent offices do this by checking all publicly available sources. This is why it is very important to describe the licensed seed in great detail. These descriptions are published immediately and are used as evidence if it comes to a patent dispute.

Not in theory, but in practice. The licence does not prohibit the use of genetic engineering techniques. It would be too difficult. Since the methods of genetic engineering are constantly being developed, a licence "prohibiting genetic engineering" would have to be continuously adapted, which is not possible seeing as licences must be permanently valid. Since genetic engineering requires a large investment of time and money, a licence acts as an indirect lever. From an economic point of view, this high expenditure can only be justified when linked with securing exclusive property rights (i.e. through patents). However, precisely these are excluded by the open-source licence. 

This means that as long as the general public rejects the use of genetic engineering in plant breeding and there continues to be a lack of public funding, there will not be any ownership-free, public GMO varieties.

Various approaches to fulfil the open source principles are currently being tried out. In the USA, Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) has chosen the ethical approach, in which it requires the user to promise to comply by the open source rules. In India, farmers have chosen an approach based on an adaption of licences. In Argentina, local groups are contributing to the development of rules that would have legal force. In Europe, however, the legal framework makes it possible to work with a legally enforceable contract. This is the approach used by OpenSourceSeeds. The literature regards such a contract-based commons as a promising avenue.