In case you hadn’t heard about this latest Monsanto trick: Patent on Broccoli will not be revoked

European Patent Office (EPO) canceled a public hearing on the controversial patent on a broccoli in October. The broccoli protected by the patent EP1069819 was derived by conventional breeding methods. The rights to the patents are being held by US company Monsanto. The company Syngenta which had appealed against the patent, has now surprisingly proposed the cancellation of the planned hearing. The EPO is following this request from industry. This means that the patent for the broccoli, which is derived by traditional breeding methods, will now be upheld with only minor modifications.