A colleague of mine has a small farm which he inherited and operates as part-time-business.
He once wanted to sell some surplus seeds from a harvest to other farmers on a facebook page or similar. He was quickly reminded that he was strictly not allowed to this, since he did not own the rights. The cooperative he operates under (basically the only way farming is done here) sold/gave him the seeds and the right to plant them and resell/bring the crops to them afterwards. Everything else was "unlicensed" and would be fined harshly.
That's just the way it is - particularly with newly developed variants. Breeding takes decades and needs to pay off somehow.
For a different view on this I suggest the SciFri podcast on the new "Cosmic Crisp" Apple. Or some research on the "Honey Crisp", "Pink Lady", etc.
He once wanted to sell some surplus seeds from a harvest to other farmers on a facebook page or similar. He was quickly reminded that he was strictly not allowed to this, since he did not own the rights. The cooperative he operates under (basically the only way farming is done here) sold/gave him the seeds and the right to plant them and resell/bring the crops to them afterwards. Everything else was "unlicensed" and would be fined harshly.
That's just the way it is - particularly with newly developed variants. Breeding takes decades and needs to pay off somehow.
For a different view on this I suggest the SciFri podcast on the new "Cosmic Crisp" Apple. Or some research on the "Honey Crisp", "Pink Lady", etc.