eChapters

Intellectual property: It can be defined as creations of intellectual brain which has value, utility/application in the society and can be traded in commerce for economic benefits.

Significance of Intellectual Property: The significance of protection of Intellectual Property has been realized for wealth and value creation in a knowledge-based economy. The agricultural scientists are comparatively little aware of IPR issues because their primary mandate has always been the free delivery of technology to the end users particularly the farmers. After the implementation of TRIPS Agreement during 1995, the worldwide focus of scientists and planners was shifted on the development of time appropriate technologies, protection of inventions/ technologies and real time technology transfer through licensing for industrial and agricultural growth leading to overall economic development. Under the changing scenario of global trade, where national governments are entering into bilateral agreements for tackling IPR issues to promote trade, agricultural scientists must also look for managing their intellectual properties in tune with the existing IP legislation of the country.

Previous Year Questions

1. Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in commerce. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time?

2. Plant varietal protection?

• The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Abstract

Intellectual property has increasingly assumed a vital role that we are witnessing today with the rapid pace of technological, scientific and medical innovation. Moreover, changes in the global economic environment have influenced the development of business models where intellectual property is a central element establishing value and potential growth. In India several new legislations for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) have been passed to meet the international obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Forest seed of economic importance and the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play a very important role in the country’s economy.

12.1. Common Term Used • GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs & Trade) • WTO (World Trade Organization) • TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Right)/IPR/Pateni/Copy right/ Trademark /G.l./Sui generis system etc. • UPOV/PVP/PBR/Farmer’s Right • CBD (Convention on Biodiversity) What is GATT? • Established in 1948 (after 2nd World War) • For the smooth conduct of trade by 22 countries (India was the party) • Several negotiations • Usually trades related to industries • Eight round at Uruguay in 1986 • First time issues on agricultural trade, textile, investment, IPR were discussed • (moral victory for the developing world especially county like IndiaWhat is WTO? • WTO is the only international organization dealing with global rule of trade (through revised GATT agreement; also called as GATT Rule Book) • On 15th April 1994 (1986-194) in Mexico, 125 countries signed the agreement • On 1 January 1995, came in force as WTO • HQ: Geneva; —140 members; wwwAvto.org Function of WTO • Administrating trade agreements. • Providing forum for trade negotiations. / • Settling trade disputes (DSC). • Reviewing national trade policies. • Technical assistance (training). • Cooperating with other institions organizations

Founded in 1924, with the aim to develop and publish standard procedures in the field of seed testing, with member laboratories in over 70 countries world wide. ISTA membership is truly a global network. ISTA secretariat is located at Zurich, Switzerland.

1. VISION AND MISSION

ISTA members work together to achieve their vision of ‘Uniformity in seed quality evaluation worldwide’. The association produces Internationally agreed rules for seed sampling and testing, accredits laboratories, promotes research, provides International seed analysis certificates and training and disseminates knowledge in Seed Science and Technology. This facilitates seed trading Nationally and Internationally and also contributes to food security.

I. FILL UPS

1. ISTA was founded in _____.
2. ISTA secretariat is located at _____.
3. _____ was founded with the aim to develop and publish standard procedures in the field of seed testing.
4. _____ is one of the leading international journals featuring papers and articles on seed quality and physiology published by ISTA.
5. The technical committees are made up of _____ number of members.

Seed

• In broad sense, seed is a material which is used for planting or regeneration purpose. However, scientifically, seed is a fertilized matured ovule together covered with seed coat is called seed or it is a propagating material i.e., part of agriculture, sericulture, silviculture and horticultural plants used for sowing or planting purpose.
• Seed is a mature integumented megasporangium or mature ovule consisting of embryonic plants together with store food material covered by a protective coat.
• Seeds are fertilised, mature ovules, the result of sexual reproduction in plants. Not all plants produce seed (some produce spores or reproduce vegetatively) but most of the higher plants produce seed.
• It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant.
• The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in plants (started with the development of flowers and pollination), with the embryo developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.

Plant breeding is described as an art and science of changing the genetic architecture of plants with a goal towards betterment of mankind. Apart from this generalized concept, plant breeding is accomplished through inter-disciplinary mode assorted from simple selection in a variable plant-population having some desirable traits to the application of biotechnology and more. Worldwide, cultivars of different crops are routinely manufactured by Multinational and National level Industries, Government Institutions, Universities, Crop specific Organizations, professional plant breeders and even by the individuals such as gardeners and farmers.

Plant breeding is basically operated by the principles of Genetics where selections are practiced from a variable population and the selected variation needs to be inherited. Three categorized broad goals of plant breeding are 1) high yield 2) uplift in quality and 3) resistance against biotic and abiotic stress.

Spice crops are known to add nutritive value and increase the palatability as well as quality of food. Therapeutic uses of spices are also well recognised. The spice industry in India and trade has shown stunning progress over the last 5 years with 120% increase in revenue which is very close to touch $ 3 billion. East Asia is the major market for spices, followed by America and the European Union and the world spice trade has almost touched $ 17 billion by 2020. So, increased production is of paramount importance across the world and the potential is increasing. On the other hand, quality improvement is one of the primary objectives of spice crop breeding apart from achieving high yield. Cultivar and species diversity are the principal components of diversity of spices (Sasikumar et al. 1999; Krishnamoorthy et al., 1997; Prasath and Venugopal, 2004). A good amount of variability is found in many important Indian spices like black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, curry leaf, ginger, garcinia, tamarind and turmeric. A number of cultivars have been released followed by intra-germplasm evaluation and selection in spices. Contribution of recombination breeding is less in spice crops with regard to other field crops and a number of valuable varieties have been bred by clonal and seedling selection (Peter, 2008). Deployment of high yielding, water use efficient, climate resilient genotypes and technologies are also necessary.

Horticultural crops include the fruit crops, vegetables, spices, plantation crops, medicinal plants, aromatic plants, commercial flower crops and ornamental plants.

Knowledge on the methods by which these reproduce is of primary importance from the standpoint of plant breeding. Besides, their annual or perennial nature also decides the methods of breeding to be adopted to get desired improvement.

Two divisions of methods of reproduction commonly recognized are:

1. Asexual i.e. vegetative parts of the plants are utilized to produce new individuals.

2. Sexual i.e. gametic fusion, the resultant zygote develops into seed which is utilized to produce new individual.

This group can be further placed in several sub divisions according to the mode of pollination. They are

a. Naturally self pollinated crop - (e.g. tomato, pepper, brinjal) wherein cross pollination occurs less than 4 % only.

b. Often cross pollinated crop- (e.g. chillies, bhendi) wherein though self pollination is more frequent, cross- pollination may occur so frequently that some methods of preventing cross pollination between varieties and strains of different genotypic constitution must be followed throughout the breeding programme.
Common breeding methods can be applied to the above two groups, however, the parents chosen for breeding under often cross pollinated crop need to be selfed for few generations to select desirable, homozygous lines.

India is famous as the ‘Land of Spices’ world over. Spices are nature’s gift to humankind for flavoring our food. They are also used as preservative and in pharmaceuticals. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of seed spices and their value added products. About 63 different spice crops are cultivated in the country. Among them, seed spices are annual herbs, whose dried seeds or fruits are used as spices. These crops share 21.87% in terms of quantity and 7.42 % in terms of value to total spices export in the country. The country grows a wide variety of seed spices like coriander, cumin, fenugreek and fennel as major crop, while, dill, nigella, ajwain, anise, celery, caraway, parsley, black cumin and few other are categories as the minor seed spices.

Seed is the primary and most critical input in any crop production programme. A quality seed alone contributes around 15-20% towards total production. The efficacy of all other inputs to increase production will be in vain if the quality of the seed is poor. Hence, use of quality seed is crucial as it appreciably increase the productivity of the crop without depending much on other inputs. This adds to the old saying in Manu Smriti good seed in good field yield abundantly .A quality seed can be defined as genetically and physically pure seeds with high germination percentage, free from seed borne pathogens and safe moisture content. This guarantees good germination, vigorous growth, and good establishment of crop in the field.

History of Seed Industry in India

Farmers dependent mostly on traditional indigenous varieties earlier and its seed requirements were met through their own farm saved seeds or through local sources. But the quality of these seed stocks was not assured, and this resulted in drastic reduction in production as well as productivity of the crops. As a result of various crop improvement programmes, improved varieties possessing high yield potential along with additional characters of biotic and abiotic resistance came into the scenario. But the availability of the seeds of these improved varieties among the farmers remained as a problem and it limited the cultivation of these varieties. This led to the development of a well-planned systemized seed production system. Government of India had framed and brought out different legislations for regulating systemized seed production. These laws are framed to make available quality seeds and planting materials to a common farmer and equip him to approach authority for justice. Seed legislations were initiated in the country by establishment of National Seed Corporation (NSC) during 1963 under Ministry of Agriculture and the seed industry was restructured through the nationals seed projects phase I (1977-78), Phase II (1978-79) and Phase III (1990-1991). These initiatives strengthened the seed industry through formulation of seed regulations, establishment of state seed corporations and seed certification agencies thereby assured the supply of quality seeds to farmers

Seed technology is defined as “that discipline of study having to do with seed production, maintenance quality and preservation (Cowan, 1973).

Feistritzer (1975) has defined seed technology as the method through which the genetic and physical characteristic of seeds could be improved. It involves such activities as variety development, evaluation and release, seed production, seed processing, seed storage, seed testing, seed certification, seed quality control and seed marketing etc.

So seed technology in widest sense, includes development of superior crop plant varieties, their evaluation and release, seed production, seed processing, seed storage, seed testing, seed certification, seed quality control, seed marketing, seed distribution and the related research on these aspects,

The major goal of seed technology is to increase agricultural production through the spread of good quality seeds of high yielding varieties. To achieve this goal, the quality seeds must be rapidly multiplied and supplied to the farmers at proper time with the reasonable price.

India had fourfold increase in population from 0.3 billion to 1.34 billion and registered a fivefold increase in food grain production from 50 million tons to
285 million tons in 2018 (Paroda, 2020). 

In today’s innovation driven economies, turning a great idea or new technology into something investors want to fund takes careful planning. This process is called investor readiness. which means making sure the idea works, has a market, and is presented in a way that makes investors feel confident. Therefore, Investor readiness means the preparedness of an innovation to attract and secure investment from potential investors. It has all the essential parameters in place that an investor would evaluate before deciding to invest. For inventors, this means showcasing innovation’s business potential, potential for growth, and the capability to provide a return on investment. Understanding investor readiness is important because it directly influences scalability and growth of invention. Even the most innovative ideas can struggle to find the financial benefits without showcasing business potential.
Why it is important to discuss investor readiness
Investor readiness is the state in which a technology, its value proposition, and its founding team are significantly prepared to engage with securing funding from potential investors. Without investor readiness, even high-potential innovations may fail to reach the market due to gaps in business clarity, legal assurance, or team maturity. TTOs play an important role in this process by acting as intermediaries between inventor and investors. Modern day TTOs are more inclined to prepare technologies and associated teams to attract investment. This expanded mandate of TTOs and brought in investor readiness. It requires a wellstructured approach focused on aligning academic innovations with investor expectations. TTOs help in creating this readiness by guiding researchers through commercial pathways, derisking technologies, and translating technical advancements into investment suitable.

1. VARIETAL SEED PRODUCTION

3 m : Rice, soybean

5 m : Blackgram, greengram, cowpea, field lab lab lab lab

5-10 m : Groundnut

25 m : Tomato

Introduction:Jamun (Syzygium cumini) belonging to the family Myrtaceae is a popular indigenous fruits Of India. It is also known as black plum, Indian black cherry, Ram jamun etc. in different parts of India. The tree is tall and handsome, evergreen, generally grown for shade and windbreak on roads and avenues. In India, the maximum number of jamun trees are found scattered throughout the tropical and subtropical regions. It also occurs in the lower range of the Himalayas up to an elevation of 1,300 meters and in the Kumaon hills up to 1,600 meters. It is widely grown in the larger parts of India from the IndoGangetic plains in the North to Tamil Nadu in the South.

Soil:The jamun tree can be grown on a wide range of soils. However, for high yield potential and good plant growth, deep loam and a welldrainedsoil are needed. Jamun can grow well under salinity and waterlogged conditions too.

Climate: Jamun prefers to grow under tropical and subtropical climate. It is also found growing in lower ranges of the Himalayas up to an altitude of 1300 meters. The jamun requires dry weather at the time off towering and fruit setting.

Varieties: The common variety grown under North Indian conditions is “Ram Jarnun”. It produces big sized, oblong fruits, deep purple or bluish-black in color at full ripe stage. The pulp of the ripe fruit is purple pink and the fruit is juicy and sweet. The stone is small in size. The variety ripens in the month of June- July and it is very common both in rural as well as in urban markets.

I. FILL UPS

1. The isolation distance is _____ for foundation seed production of jute.
2. The maximum permitted limit of off types for foundation seed is _____.
3. The water requirement of jute crop is _____.
4. Seed rate recommended for olitorius type of jute is _____.
5. Seed rate recommended for capsularis type of jute is _____.

Lablab purpureus usually knowna s Dolichus bean, Hyacinth bean or Field bean belonging to the family fabaceae, one of the most ancient crops among cultivated plants. It is a bushy, semi-erect, perennial herb, showing no tendency to climb. It is mainly cultivated either as a pure crop or mixed with finger millet, groundnut, castor, corn, bajra or sorghum in Asia and Africa. It is a multipurpose crop grown for pulse, vegetable and forage. The crop is grown for its green pods, while dry seeds are used in various vegetable food preparations.

Season:Seed is very sensitive to weather. A grain crop can be sold for a lower price even if it damaged by rain. But a seed crop, if affected will lead to low seed quality. Hence selecting the right season is necessary. Generally, the seed should mature in cool dry climate. Seasons should be selected with this idea in mind. In Tamil Nadu the best seed crops are grown during March--April and September - October as the seeds mature during the cool months of January - February.

Leafy vegetables are rich source of vitamins like A, C and minerals like calcium and iron. Most of the leafy vegetables are quick growing types and shows good response to manures and fertilizers. Their easiness in cultivation and adaptation to diverse agroclimatic conditions makes it suitable for various cropping systems. Some of them are annual in nature while some others are perennial. Leaves as well as tender stems are uses as vegetable in the cooked form. They are reported to have antinutritional factors, oxalates and nitrates compared to other vegetables. The annual leafy vegetables are widely cultivating in our country and among them, amaranth, palak, spinach and fenugreek are the major ones. These crops are short duration in nature, completes their entire life cycle by 80-90 days and produce good yield and brings monetary returns to farmers in short time.

Amaranth (Amaranth sp.)

It is herbaceous fast growing annual leafy vegetable grown for leaves as well as grains. Vegetable amaranth is reported to be equal or superior in taste to that of spinach. Leaves and succulent stem are good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron and are used as vegetable. High oxalate and nitrate content are reported in some species of amaranth.

The major vegetable species of amaranth cultivating in India is A. ticolor. It is suggested to be originated in South or South east Asia particularly in India. Another vegetable type, A. dubius shows diversity in Central America, Indonesia, Asia and Africa. A. lividus is the popular vegetable type in South and Central Europe. Other leafy species are A. viridis, A. tristis and A. spinosus. A. cruentus, A. hypochondriacus and A. caudatus are cultivating for grain purpose. Taxonomists suggested two sections in Amaranthus namely blitopsis which include leafy types and amaranthus which constitutes grain types.

8.1 Key legal statutes and regulatory foundations
Various policy measures were also undertaken by the Government of India in due course of time. The Government of India enacted four science policies after gaining independence, i.e. Scientific Policy Resolution (1958), Technology Policy Statement (1983), Science and Technology Policy (2003) and Science Technology and Innovation Policy (2013). The 1983 Technology Policy Statement possessed a simple goal of creating indigenous technology and boosting efficient absorption and adaptation of imported technologies suited to the nation’s priorities and. The Technology Policy Statement of 1983 was followed up through the establishment of the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), an autonomous organization entirely owned by the Government of India under the Department of Science and Technology during 1988. TIFAC also offers some funding and supports development and commercialization of technologies through the home-grown technology scheme, among its other operations. The Technology Development Board Act (1995) was also a significant policy move of the government in the same direction. Also in recent times, the Government of India also unveiled its own National IPR Policy 2016 with the motto cum slogan “Creative India, Innovative India”. In addition, the policy is aligned to a number of other schemes of the Indian Government like “Make in India”, “Atal Innovation Mission”, “Start-Up India” and “Stand-Up India”, all aimed at encouraging creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship in the nation.