Companies centralize collection of royalties for the use of seeds

Basf, Bayer, Corteva Agriscience and Syngenta announced the beginning of the operational transition to the Cultivate Biotec Project, a system for recognizing the intellectual property of these companies' biotechnologies. In practice, this service starts to centralize the collection of royalties for the use of seeds with patents from these brands, such as Intacta RR2 PRO, Intacta 2 Xtend, Xtend Refúgio, Conkesta E3 and Enlist E3. Previously, each company had its own royalty collection procedure.

According to the Industrial Property Law (Law 9.279 / 96), the producer must pay royalties whenever he uses seeds that have valid intellectual property. Anyone who buys certified seeds collects it immediately. The producer who plans to make a legal reserve for biotechnology (or save the seeds for the next harvest), however, must notify the industry system and collect royalties according to the declared area and production expectations. If the producer who saved the seeds does not notify the company or pay royalties, they may be charged when their production is sold.

To carry out inspection, the Cultivate Biotec Project will continue to promote transgenic tests on samples of truck loads that arrive at reception points. These analyzes are able to determine whether or not the grains contain undeclared biotechnologies from the group's companies. If seeds belonging to patented brands are detected, producers will be instructed to regularize the procedures, in accordance with the law, paying 7,5% of the volume sold. This collection of royalties in the hopper will also occur in cases where the farmer has exceeded the exemption volume for the sale of his grains.

The exemption volume was reviewed by Cultive Biotec and, in the case of Paraná, the limit is 72 bags per hectare. "In practice, little changes for the producer already accustomed to delivering grains with patented biotechnologies. The main point of attention remains the correct procedure for reserving the seed for their own use. The producer needs to declare to the Ministry of Agriculture, at the time of planting , the intention of reserving seed to be used in the next harvest and, subsequently, paying royalties directly to the company", observes Ana Paula Kowalski, from the Technical and Economic Department of the FAEP/SENAR-PR System.

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