The battle has paid off: new breeds of malting barley may no longer be patented in future and thus withdrawn from general use. This clear regulation will be included in the amendment to the Austrian Patent Act, which was passed by the Council of Ministers on 1 March and is now before Parliament for further discussion. Of course, the ban not only affects malting barley, which has been particularly threatened in recent years, but also has a comprehensive effect: all conventionally bred plants and animals are subject to a strict patent ban. This puts a stop to a practice that has become increasingly widespread in recent years: global corporations register certain crops modified by breeding as patents (for example malting barley), whereupon other companies are no longer allowed to use these varieties – or only with high licence payments.
"The fact that this abuse has now been stopped is a success for Austrian brewing culture and also for the preservation of biodiversity," says a delighted Ewald Pöschko, Chairman of the association of Independent Breweries of Austria. Austria's independent breweries have been fighting for this ban for years together with NGOs. The Arche Noah association, which has set itself the task of preserving and disseminating cultivated plant varieties threatened with extinction, was particularly active at the forefront. On paper, the patenting of plants and animals from conventional breeding should not have been possible under EU law. However, international corporations have repeatedly found loopholes and thus managed to monopolise valuable seeds for themselves. In future, a clearly formulated ban will leave no room for interpretation.
"In order to preserve regional brewing culture, it is essential to be able to further develop two of the most important raw materials, namely malting barley and hops, through breeding," emphasises Pöschko. "The plants must adapt to climate change and also to other environmental influences. Over the centuries, seeds have been repeatedly modified through breeding. These developments must be freely accessible to everyone; seeds must not become the plaything of large corporations," says Niki Riegler, owner of the Hirter private brewery and spokesperson for patents for the association of Independent Breweries in Austria.
The stricter patent ban makes Austria a pioneer for the whole of Europe. Ultimately, domestic brewing culture will benefit, says Pöschko: "Regional brewing traditions can be preserved even in times of climate change. The independent private breweries in Austria will continue to bring regional specialities and a variety of flavours to the glass in the future and will not become embroiled in copyright disputes with international law firms."