New West Genetics Archives - Hemp & CBD

Are hemp plant breeders ramping up on utility patents to protect novel varieties?

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2021 12:12:35 +0000

Hemp genetics companies have been actively pursuing patents to protect their intellectual property after years of work to develop novel genetics.

But despite intellectual property protection that became available after the U.S. legalized hemp production in 2018, some companies are still opting for more expensive and more comprehensive plant utility patents for the highest level of protection over their breeding efforts.

Broader than a plant patent or PVP, a utility patent offers the most protection available under the federal law.

Colorado-based Charlotte’s Web Holdings secured two utility patents in mid-January for its new feminized seed hybrid hemp varieties:

Kirsche, a variety that will be used for the company’s internal cultivation purposes.
Lindorea, which the company has made publicly available for hemp farmers to buy for their own production seasons.

According to the company, the varieties are the first two allowed utility patents on feminized hybrid hemp plants. So far, the company has earned one plant patent and four utility patents for its breeding efforts.

Bear Reel

“Achieving the first patented hemp hybrids demonstrates that it is possible to improve hemp through similar methods as other agronomic crops using natural breeding techniques,” said Bear Reel, Charlotte’s Web vice president of cultivation and R&D and the developer of the new varieties.

According to Reel, Charlotte’s Web considered all the options available to protect its genetics, and settled on a utility patent for the level of protection it offered.

PVP protection, which comes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is “limited to the plant itself,” Reel told Hemp Industry Daily.

“Our utility patents help us protect not only the plants themselves, but also provides some protection for our breeding work, and the products that we make from our genetics.”

Protecting years of work

With all the work that goes into identifying traits, hybridizing new varieties and building up a supply of genetics for the marketplace, plant breeders must protect their work to ensure they receive royalty payments associated with their genes, traits and varieties.

It’s a process that is common within other agricultural commodities and specialty crops.

Options for protecting intellectual property include:

Plant Variety Protection through the USDA, which protects asexually propagated or seed varieties for up to 20 years and is only available for legal hemp varieties.
Plant patents through the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, which cover key characteristics of asexually propagated or clonal varieties of both hemp and marijuana varieties, for up to 20 years.
Utility patents through the U.S. PTO, which cover plants and their parts of both marijuana and hemp varieties for up to 20 years.
Charging other plant breeders to use IP through Material Licensing Agreements.

Some consider utility patents the best option for cannabis breeders because they cover both sexually and asexually propagated new varieties, and because plant breeders can make multiple claims to cover the specific elements of a plant.

In addition to varieties, utility patents can protect genes, traits, methods and plant parts.

“The best protection you can get to protect your genetics and its progeny is getting a utility patents on a variety,” said Wendy Mosher, president and CEO of Fort Collins, Colorado-based New West Genetics.

“Varieties have to show stability over at least six to eight generations, but that is ultimately up to the examiner in most cases.”

But because a utility patent is broader and more complicated, it can also take longer to file and defend. Costs are higher, too, and will include maintenance fees and costs for updates.

Are utility patents the future?

It’s hard to say whether hemp breeding companies seeking out utility patents over PVP or plant patents is the beginning of a trend or dependent on the mission of the company.

In other agricultural industries such as ornamental horticulture, more plant breeders have been investing in utility patents in recent years to protect their breeding efforts, after issues have come up with competing breeders taking liberties with patented genetics and creating essentially derived varieties through irradiation.

According to plant geneticist and intellectual property attorney Dale Hunt of San Diego-based Plant and Planet law firm, it’s likely that companies will continue to opt for plant utility patents because of the limited protections available from plant patents and PVP certificates.

“Specifically, it’s not an infringement of a plant patent to use the patented plant for further breeding; same for a PVP-registered variety,” Hunt told Hemp Industry Daily in an email.

Because hemp and marijuana companies may want to protect genetics to have their own unique, proprietary consumer product that is protected all the way from seed to shelf, it is advisable to spend the extra money on utility protection, Hunt said.

This broader patent coverage could easily cost five to 10 times more than a plant patent, he said.

This high cost is what makes Mosher question whether the hemp industry will see an uptick in plant breeders pursuing utility patent protection.

“It’s highly expensive,” Mosher told Hemp Industry Daily.

“Just like everything else, all of this work is going to start to get consolidated because of the expense.”

Wendy Mosher

Before the USDA PVP patents were available, Mosher applied for and received the first utility patent for a commercial hemp variety.

“Just to file, it’s $10,000 and that’s the filing fee – that’s not your lawyers that prepare it,” Mosher said.

Large companies that have patents on germplasms are able to do so because they have the money to pursue and enforce them, Mosher said.

“I don’t know that that’s going to become standard now. I think a few companies may, but it’s cost prohibitive.”

But Reel said the extra work and money involved in securing a utility patent is worth it.

“Much of the added difficulty in securing a utility patent is in the amount of scientific information required during the patent review process, and in demonstrating inventiveness over other existing genetics,” Reel said.

Licensing patented genetics

Owners of PVP and plant patents must provide seed and tissue culture samples to the federal government to allow for future breeding when the patent expires. That may be seen as a drawback because under Plant Breeders’ Rights, a global plant-protection regulatory convention, PVP certificates allow potential competitors to access plant seeds.

Germplasm, including genetic markers and traits, can still be licensed under utility patents if a company chooses to allow a breeder or another company to do so – just because it’s under a patent doesn’t mean plant traits are locked up forever, Mosher said. But it’s still too early for that yet in the hemp market thus far, she said.

“As the industry gets bigger and more differentiated with what the end consumer needs, that’s when it’s really going to open up for licensing.”

Learn more about hemp genetics and the commercial varieties available on the market in the 2021 Hemp Variety Yearbook.

Laura Drotleff can be reached at [email protected]

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21 predictions for 2021: Insiders handicap what’s ahead for the hemp sector

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 05:59:04 +0000

(Click on the orange arrows to advance the slideshow.)

Who could have predicted what 2020 would bring to the hemp industry?

No one of course.

But now thought leaders in the industry are looking forward with the hopes that 2021 is a bit more predictable.

That’s why we asked 21 hemp insiders to share their insights and expectations for the next 12 months.

Comments have been edited for length and clarity.

Patrick Atagi, board chairman, National Industrial Hemp Council

Domestically, we anticipate three things happening to further the hemp industry.

First, we believe that under the watchful eye of Congress, the Biden Administration will usher in certainty in the form of enforcement discretion that will regulate the supplemental value of CBD.

Second, we believe hemp will be solidified as a commodity of the future when all 50 states and U.S. territories have USDA-approved plans and inclusion into farm commodity programs at (the agency).

Last, we believe 2021 will be a critical year for the industry with the NIHC working to establish a national hemp checkoff program that conducts promotion, much-needed industry research and consumer education. This program will strengthen our industry and be the building block for our industry to keep growing for years to come.

Lorenza Romanese, managing director, European Industrial Hemp Association

The question of THC limits in EU food has a high chance of being solved, (and) big food companies could finally officially step into the hemp business.

CBD production and trading will increase, as the EU legal framework is clearer now. Only companies ensuring high quality will stay on the market, increasing their market share and their visibility. Compliance with existing provisions for food, food supplements and cosmetics will be mandatory to survive.

Angela Dawson, founder, 40 Acre Co-op

The 2021 hemp market will level out all of the volatility of 2020, and we will have better quality products and standards with more “specialty” cultivators who will lead the market.

Medicinal uses of CBD will continue to grow, and we will be able to discern the bad actors from the real practitioners.

Dozie Mbonu, chairman, National Hemp Association Standing Committee on Social Equity

My 2021 predictions:

Hemp education will expand greatly.
Adoption of emerging technologies within the industry will begin to come to the forefront.
Hemp will now become a mainstream topic globally.
Hemp-derived products of all types will become commonplace in households around the world.

Ry Russell, co-founder and CEO, Knot Plastic

My prediction is 2021 is going to really expose some significant weaknesses within the hemp supply chain. The industry has done a great job educating the world in 2020 about the many ways we can utilize hemp for a number of practical applications, yet there is a significant lack of infrastructure to support all of these applications.

I believe that there is major opportunity for growth in the processing of hemp for finished goods, and hopefully we will start to see that need being fulfilled within this next year.

Wendy Mosher, president and CEO, New West Genetics

What my company expects for 2021:

Consideration of applications for hemp grain in animal feed.
Greater collaboration across the supply chain. We need to realize we can’t exist without working together.
Stabilization of pricing, though the days of even $10,000+ net profit per acre for biomass are gone.
Still small acreage for CBD, as the FDA will likely not approve CBD in supplements this coming year. We are planning for that more towards the end of 2022/2023.
And hopefully, little to no COVID!

Erica Halverson, founder and CEO, Tiny ePaper

Hemp stalks and all we can do with them will surpass CBD and cannabis for market share and revenue. We will truly think about hemp holistically and stop focusing on the seed and flower only.

Bryan Parr, agronomist, Legacy Hemp

Considering corn and soybean prices are on the rise and Canadian hemp grain prices are driving U.S. hemp grain prices lower, hemp grain acreage is likely to remain steady to slightly lower in the northern U.S. while acreage in the corn-belt states and South is likely to be significantly lower in 2021.

Hemp will likely remain more profitable than wheat but will struggle being more profitable than corn or soybeans.

I am feeling optimistic about 2021. States will continue filling the regulatory vacuum caused by a lack of federal oversight. I anticipate this will spur infrastructure support at the agency level.

Supply-chain development will be a focus. Expect international standards of identity for hemp feed and the approval of hemp seed meal for laying hens next year too.

Franny Tacy, executive owner, Franny’s Farmacy

It’s going to be big year for this industry.

E-commerce is going to get bigger. With all the regulations coming down, we’re going to see fewer processors, less manufacturing and a lot more business purchases.

Lance Robertson, president, Amerigreen Organics

We have no place to go but up. With the new administration coming in, it will bring a fresh air of opportunity to do business.

But I believe that as we drill down to the micro level, it’s all about creating a platform and a footprint that will sustain your business.

Asa Waldstein, founder, Supplement Advisory Group

Don’t expect to see any hemp regulatory action in the first half of 2021, as resources will likely be allocated to focusing on COVID relief including the vaccine distribution.

My prediction is very late 2021 we’ll see hemp/CBD regulation enacted treating it as a new dietary ingredient but not as a food, with a grace period of 90 to 180 days to comply.

Compiling safety data should be on the forefront of every CBD company’s mind now and takes time.

Lorenzo Rolim, president, Latin America Industrial Hemp Association

We should expect to see a more fast-tracked commoditization of hemp and an increase in consumption from North American and European markets.

What we are seeing in the fields (in Latin America) is that the region has an enormous potential to produce hemp grains and fiber at a fraction of the costs routinely practiced by European and North American producers, mainly due to the more tropical climate and abundantly available land and labor. The same trend should apply to CBD and other cannabinoids very soon.

A lot of investors in the industry are already aware of this fact and have been for some time now. We should see more investment coming into countries where regulations allow the production.

Shailesh Ganeriwala, managing director, OG Hemp

With federal legislation, smaller countries will speed up their hemp defining rules.

I am sure hemp paper and products will be a very important sector to watch out for in 2021. I expect a boom in industrial applications of cannabis products and Indian cannabis products reaching Europe and the United States.

Guy Carpenter, president, Bear Fiber Inc.

The raw-material supply chain for fiber will work itself out more quickly than most will predict, and it’ll be a combination of solid commercial producers … and entrepreneurs with their own processing equipment and systems.

The spinners, knitters and weavers are ready for something new (with demand) that fits into production systems smoothly, and there’s enough domestic sewing to handle the quantities likely available for 2021.

Ryan Douglas, founder, Ryan Douglas Cultivation

Hemp farmers in 2021 will continue to see increased price pressure on CBD biomass as more and more acres convert to hemp flower production. This pressure will likely be exacerbated by imports from South American suppliers of bulk CBD oils and isolates.

As a result, 2021 will see more farmers venturing into hemp for fiber and grain production since there are very few players and the possibilities hold much more potential than CBD production alone.

Rob Richard, president, Wisconsin Hemp Alliance

My prediction for 2021 is that we will get more regulatory certainty for hemp, especially for CBD, at the federal level.

I think we’ll see some positive movement at the USDA to finalize the (interim national hemp rule) in a way that is more beneficial to the industry than how the rule is currently written.

Mark Reinders, CEO, HempFlax

I foresee 2021 being a year of immense progress in building the necessary infrastructure, aided by further consumer impetus.

2021 will be the year where hemp farmers truly begin to realize that total crop valuation is the smartest way to operate. … Only those hemp farmers with a harvesting and processing plan in place will succeed as, until the end-market is identified and secured, growing hemp will likely be a loss-making activity.

The U.S. will continue to collaborate with experienced European farmers to process this multifaceted but difficult crop. Those producers realizing that quality starts in the field will thrive.

Aurelien Delecroix, president, Syndicat du Chanvre

The future of the CBD in France has never been more promising. Following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in the Kanavape case, the French authorities have recognized the need to develop the national regulatory framework.

With the expertise of the French hemp industry – still today the leader in Europe – France now has the means to become a reference for CBD products. Kanavape gave the French CBD sector the legitimacy it needed to become a fully viable and prosperous industry in the country.

Shomi Malik, development director, Association for the Cannabinoid Industry

The momentum will continue in 2021. I’m particularly excited for the U.K. market as the effects of the Food Standards Agency deadline will start being felt. For the first time, brands will be able to sell their products in an environment clear of ambiguity.

I cannot overstate how important this will be for the entire sector, especially as this paves the way for retailers to engage in a way that they haven’t previously.

Francesco Mirizzi, senior policy advisor, European Industrial Hemp Association

Big fashion brands already using hemp will assess the marketing potential of hemp blends. They might choose to increase the share of hemp fiber in their production lines, which will require major changes in production and transformation of the fiber.

India and China, two major yarn and textile manufacturers, will most probably consider changes in their hemp legislation.

In Europe, new decortication will start operating, and spinners will try to adapt their machinery to hemp fiber.

EU institutions will look at hemp as a possible diversification crop for farmers and as a carbon-storage opportunity.

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