1. IRRI: The Experience of an International Public Research Institute

2. IRRIs Mission Statement Our goal To improve the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes

3. Types of Research Activities Traditional plant breeding Biotechnology Water and nutrient management Agricultural engineering Social sciences

4. Types of Research Partners Ministries of Agriculture Universities – public – private Research Institutes – public – private

5. Access to Research Materials Germplasm and plant varieties for further breeding >100,000 accessions available in the IRRI Gene Bank contributions through networks, such as INGER research collaborations

6. Biotechnology Publicly available materials Licensing in of third-party tangible and intellectual properties Research only licenses Access to Research Materials (Continued…)

7. Issues encountered with third party IPRs Exclusivity of licensing Example: rice genome sequence Right to sublicense Responsibility involved with sublicensing Market Segmentation

8. Licensed technologies Golden Rice TM Xa21 gene

9. Factors that Affect Decision to Protect Research Results IPR policies and guidelines of donors No IPRs Encourage IPRs Silent on the issue

10. IRRIs policies and guidelines Unrestricted sharing of germplasm for pre-CBD collections Sharing of germplasm and varieties, as permitted by donor, for post CBD collections Formal IP protection of biotechnologies only if it is the best way to serve the clients Factors that Affect Decision to Protect Research Results (Continued…)

11. IRRIs policies and guidelines Agricultural equipment – Philippine patents in the past Copyrightable materials – books, media assets Trademark of IRRI and IR name and logo No trade secrets Factors that Affect Decision to Protect Research Results (Continued…)

12. Intellectual Properties and Commercialization Licensing of IRRIs IP assets – limited Photos from the IRRI Photobank Maps and other GIS data Commercialization Transfer of technologies to national partners and farmers

13. Transfer of Technologies Send materials with a Material Transfer Agreement Licensing of copyrightable materials Publications and seminars Advise Release of plant varieties

14. Transfer of Technologies Field days News releases Training Postdoctoral fellowships Other research fellowships (Continued…)

15. Future Developments Terms of rice germplasm exchange will change according to International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Uncertain how non-signatory countries will be affected. IPR and technology exchange policies and practice will remain flexible!