Can animals and plants be patented? Is this mandated by trade agreements with patent rules?
Different views remain on the question of the patentability of animals and plants, even among developed countries. The decision of allowing patents for plants and animals is a matter of national policy. Under the TRIPS Agreement governments can exclude some kinds of inventions from patenting, i.e. plants, animals and essentially biological processes (but micro-organisms, and non-biological and microbiological processes have to be eligible for patents). However, plant varieties have to be eligible for protection either through patent protection or a system created specifically for the purpose (sui generis), or a combination of the two. For example, some countries have enacted a plant varieties protection law based on a model of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Both bilateral FTAs recently signed in the Americas (Chile-US and DR-CAFTA) cover the issue of patent protection for plants.
