EPO revokes Monsanto melon patent

The European Patent Office (EPO) has revoked Monsanto’s patent covering virus-resistant melons on technical grounds, following opposition to its registration by the Indian government and activist group No Patents on Seeds.

The EPO revoked the patent under article 83 of the European Patent Convention, which requires a patent application to “disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for it to be carried out by a person skilled in the art”.

Both No Patents on Seeds and pharmaceutical company Bayer opposed the patent, EP number 1,962,578, on technical grounds. It was granted in 2011.

Oppositions were filed in 2012, but the case was stayed as the Enlarged Board of Appeal handled the Tomato II and Broccoli II case. The disputed patents in that case were approved by the board on March 26, 2015.

The ‘578 patent covers melons that are resistant to closterovirus, which turns melons yellow and reduces their fruit yield. According to No Patents on Seeds, the virus originates from India.

The melons are able to resist the virus by the inclusion of a genetic marker from another melon. The process is a conventional breeding method, but the ‘578 patent covers the modified final product and not the breeding process.

The Indian government also offered its support and submitted a formal opposition to the patent.

According to No Patents on Seeds, the granting of the patent was an act of biopiracy and in contravention of international laws.

Christoph Then, a member of the campaign group, said: “The patent was based on essentially biological processes for breeding and claimed plant varieties. This was a clear violation of European patent law.”

According to the EPO, just seven patents covering plants developed by conventional breeding methods have been granted since 1995.