Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 146 Document Number: D06623
Notes:
Presentation at a conference, "Concentration in agriculture: how much, how serious and why worry" at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, February 4, 2003. 18 pages.
26 pages., via online journal., This paper employs the patent data of four major genetically modified (GM) crops, soybeans, cotton, maize and rapeseed, to illustratee how the innovation of GM crop technology diffused and distributed globally over time. Data collected from the Derwent Innovation Index, were employed to construct country patent citation networks, from 1984 to 2015, and the results revealed that developed countries were early adopters, and the primary actors in the innovation of GM crop technology. Only seven developing countries appeared in the country citation network. Most developed countries were reluctant to apply GM crop technology for commercial cultivation. Private businesses stood out in the patent citation network. The early adoption and better performance of developed countries can be explained by the activities of large established private companies.
Author's analysis prompts an observation that simple reforms of existing patent law can prevent outsiders from securing intellectual property in knowledge already developed by traditional communities.
