b'HOW DO WEAS BIOTECH TRAITS reach the end of their intellectual prop-erty protection (including patent protection), opportuni-ties for the seed sector present themselves in regard to RESPONSIBLYselling seeds with generic novel traits (SGNTs).Along with these opportunities INTRODUCEcomes the need for good stew-ardship practices to protect the integrity and durability of prod-SEEDS ucts to support grower productiv-ity and sustainability, as well as support international trade.That was the major takeaway CONTAININGfrom a meeting of the SeedsJennifer Hubert of Canada biotechnology commit- CropLife Canada.tee at Julys Seeds Canada annual GENERIC NOVELmeeting in Winnipeg, Man.Speaking at the meeting was CropLife Canada plant biotechnology executive director Jennifer Hubert, who TRAITS? presented a draft document designed to provide steward-ship considerations and best practices for responsibly introducing SGNTs to the marketplace.We really wanted to focus on awareness and rec-ognizing that there are going to be companies coming forward and selling generic traits that may not have the As biotech traits reach the end same experience that some of the innovator companies of their IP protection, CropLifehave had in bringing these traits to the market, Hubert told Germination prior to the meeting.Canada is looking for value chainThere are many responsibilities that come along with that, be it stewardship around resistance management, or input on a new guidance documentsecuring market access. Even when youre just launching regarding SGNTs. something in Canada, you still need to get export market approvals. With generic traits, those will all be in place, Marc Zienkiewicz but some of the export market approvals expire, which makes it complicated.According to Hubert, questions that arise include:What if the innovator decides theyre going to exit the market? How do we make sure everyones aware of when those approvals are going to expire, and who should be responsible for maintaining them?So, the document weve created is really about aware-ness of things everyone needs to be thinking of, because everyone has a role to play in properly stewarding these products Hubert said.Anyone selling the product is going to have some responsibility. This document is really about creating the awareness of what needs to be done and things that should be considered when launching the product.Hubert says CropLife Canada is looking for value chain input on the document.Weve been hearing from the value chain that they want to know how these products are going to be man-aged, and whos going to be responsible for them. Its important for them to weigh into this to make sure that they think everything is covered here in terms of the con-siderations weve laid out, she added.Hubert can be reached at hubertj@croplife.ca 6GERMINATION.CASEPTEMBER 2022'