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Freeing Crop Genetics through the Open Source Seed Initiative

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  • Claire H Luby
  • Irwin L Goldman

Abstract

For millennia, seeds have been freely available to use for farming and plant breeding without restriction. Within the past century, however, intellectual property rights (IPRs) have threatened this tradition. In response, a movement has emerged to counter the trend toward increasing consolidation of control and ownership of plant germplasm. One effort, the Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI, www.osseeds.org), aims to ensure access to crop genetic resources by embracing an open source mechanism that fosters exchange and innovation among farmers, plant breeders, and seed companies. Plant breeders across many sectors have taken the OSSI Pledge to create a protected commons of plant germplasm for future generations.This Community Page article highlights the Open Source Seed Initiative, which serves as an alternative to restrictive intellectual property rights and is working to develop an open-source release mechanism for crop plant diversity, analogous to that developed for open-source software.

Suggested Citation

  • Claire H Luby & Irwin L Goldman, 2016. "Freeing Crop Genetics through the Open Source Seed Initiative," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-6, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pbio00:1002441
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002441
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard Jefferson, 2006. "Science as Social Enterprise: The CAMBIA BiOS Initiative," Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, MIT Press, vol. 1(4), pages 13-44, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kliem, Lea & Sagebiel, Julian, 2023. "Consumers' preferences for commons-based and open-source produce: A discrete choice experiment with directional information manipulations," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Martin Fredriksson, 2021. "Open Source Seeds and the Revitalization of Local Knowledge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.

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