b'Restoring theIf I spent a million dollars a year to develop a new germ-plasm, I need a mechanism thats going to give me an exclu-native landscape sivity to prevent others from taking it and running off with it, Weatherly says. People arent going to invest if they cant recoup their investment.And when it comes down to it, companies cant afford to take a risk they cant recoup right now, especially with current global events.Theres a lot of things that put our food systems at risk, like disruptions from COVID-19 and from Russia, and we cant afford to do that, Corona says. Just think of IP as the motivator for plant breeders and seed companies to invest in a high-risk com-mitment.Just think of IP as the motivator for plant breeders and seed companies to invest in a high-risk commitment. https://bit.ly/ErnstSeedWorldEloy Corona800 - 873 - 3321sales@ernstseed.comIP Encourages Competition and InnovationWhen thinking of IP as the motivator for innovation and risk investment, its an easy answer: IP is encouraging competition and innovation in our sector.Everybodys trying to build a better mousetrap, Corona says. There was an economic study around 10 years ago by Iowa State University that looked at IP and whether it increases the size of the grower and consumer welfare pie, and it does. Not only that, but it also proved that growers get a six to one return for every dollar they spend on new professionally produced seed. If you updated it today, I think youd see the same results.Not only that, but without IP, Weatherly says thered be a lot less interaction among the industry. IP gives you the opportunity to work with others, he says. If you didnt have IP in your technology, you wouldnt be able to collaborate with other companies and/or license technolo-gies from otherswhich facilitates new seed innovations for the future.In the end, IP is meant to encourage innovations through pro-tectionand that protection isnt meant to hinder anyone.SWON THE WEBWHERE Do you have extra questions about IP or IP Protection? Be sure to visit www.seedipalliance.comto learn more about seed innovations and the IP behind it.38/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2022'