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2021 - Volume 4 - Number 1

A Critical Examination of Breeders’ Monopoly Rights to the Detriment of Farmers’ Rights Under the Ethiopian Plant Breeders’ Rights Law

Temesgen Abebe Degu * timatimdegu@yahoo.com * ORCID: 0000-0002-7139-2369 * ResearcherID: AAL-1142-2021
Wachemo University, School of Law, Hosaena, ETHIOPIA

Open Journal for Legal Studies, 2021, 4(1), 19-30 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojls.0401.02019d
Received: 20 January 2021 ▪ Accepted: 4 April 2021 ▪ Published Online: 1 June 2021

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
Ethiopia adopted plant breeders’ rights proclamation in 2006 to provide recognition and economic reward for breeders for their effort and investment so as to encourage their involvement in the sector. At the same time, the proclamation aims to ensure that the farming and pastoral communities of Ethiopia, who have been conserving and continue to do so in the future the agro-biodiversity resource used to develop new plant varieties, continue to their centuries old customary practice of use and exchange of seed. This article aims at investigating the extent to which the proclamation accommodates its stated objective by giving adequate recognition to farmers’ rights. The investigation adopts a qualitative method by analyzing both primary materials and secondary sources. The article concludes that the Ethiopian plant breeders’ rights proclamation fails to adequately incorporate farmers’ rights beyond its preamble.

KEY WORDS: breeders’ rights, farmers’ rights, IPRs, monopoly rights, patent.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Temesgen Abebe Degu, Wachemo University, School of Law, Hosaena, ETHIOPIA. E-mail: timatimdegu@yahoo.com.

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