Patenting of agriculture biotechnology in Iraq: Widening the gap between the country's development needs and food security

Abstract

In Iraq, plants and biological processes for their production and plant varieties are patentable Under Order (81/2004) in Iraq and later its amendment Law (58/2015). This paper attempts to critically review patent rules related to agricultural biotechnology. It specifically questions the extent to which Iraq's developmental needs were considered when far‐reaching plant related patent protection was granted, The motivation for this study lies in its aim to examine the shift to restrictive exclusionary rights over plant genetic resources, and the implications this shift could have on sustainable agriculture and food security in the country, particularly Iraq lacks technological, institutional and financial capacities that can be directed towards the development of the biotechnology industry in the country.