Who Benefits from IP Rights?

Who Benefits from IP Rights for Agricultural Innovation? by Steward Redqueen, follows the journey of Ogura, an oilseed rape hybridization technology developed by INRA, the French National Research Institute, across its 20 year patent life. The study analyzes the time and money innovators invested, the benefits to farmers and consumers, and the role of intellectual property in making it all possible.

The authors discovered Ogura created €1.0 billion in economic benefits to society with €960 million, or 75%, accruing downstream to farmers and consumers — a significant boon for the French economy. Ogura developers invested €56 million and nearly a decade of work bringing the Ogura oilseed rape hybrids to market and required 15 years to break even on their investments.

In light of this, the authors determine that without the robust protections offered by current intellectual property laws, INRA and the seed producers would not have been able to recoup their investment and would likely have never developed Ogura oilseed rape hybrids — costing society over €1 billion in economic benefits.

Download Who Benefits from IP Rights for Agricultural Innovation: The Case of Ogura Oilseed Rape in France by Steward Redqueen (Full Report) (Executive Summary)

Download Intellectual Property Helps Farmers Grow infographic (PDF)