 |
 |
|
|
News Releases Strategy in Place for Agchem Patent Infringements 20 April 2007 FOLLOWING two years of patent infringements by some generic agrochemical manufacturers at the annual Crop Science and Technology Conference, event organiser the British Crop Production Council (BCPC) has taken new steps to stamp out likely offenders. This year's event, taking place in Glasgow during October, will see a generic exhibitor 'zone' created to concentrate all generic manufacturers in one area. Furthermore, all promotional material will be inspected and offending material removed prior to the exhibition, says the BCPC. The move follows infringements in 2005 and 2006 by Chinese generic manufacturers at the exhibition relating to the promotion of pesticide active ingredients (ais) for which there were no patents in China. However, sales were being made in the UK where some patents still had at least a year to run. “The end result in 2005 was the ejection of two exhibitors after legal action by the leading agrochemical manufacturers,” says the BCPC's Dr Colin Ruscoe. “The agrochemical manufacturers were rightfully seeking to protect their income, which is derived from a huge investment in time and money that crop protection chemical discovery and regulation require.” Since 2005 the BCPC has advocated a more constructive approach to the problem of patent infringements by communicating directly with the leading agrochemical Companies and with the generic agrochemical manufacturers in China ahead of the exhibition. In addition, steps have been taken such as capping the number of generic producers allowed to exhibit, while access for companies who have infringed in the past, or are 'likely to' in the future, is denied. “BCPC will continue with its policy of allowing a limited number of generic companies to participate – provided they are free to promote their products,” says Dr Ruscoe. “It should be emphasised that the inclusion of generic manufacturers reflects the overall trend of the industry and it is important that both the diversity and quality of exhibitors, and the services they provide, are maintained.” |
|
Issued by Kendalls on behalf of BCPC |
 |
|
| © BCPC |