Patterns and Strategies in the Agbiotech Innovation
Some Evidences from Patent Data Analysis

Area 07 – Scienze agrarie e veterinarie

Agricultural innovation began with the invention of agriculture itself, but the rate of change has accelerated in the past 100 years. Recent history shows that biotechnology and its application play a leading role in boosting agriculture forward to face the new challenges concerned with agricultural productivity and environmental safety. Since 1980 the pattern of agriculture R&D changed dramatically as an effect of the introduction of innovative research tools and technologies like molecular approach to plant breeding. One of the main effects of this change is the growing role of private research with a proliferation of IP rights, particularly in regard to agbiotech innovation. This study presents an empirical investigation of what patent data can reveal about the subject of agbiotech innovations according to three different time period: short, medium and long term perspective. Moreover, focusing on innovation in the private sector, this work analyzes the business strategies in order to evaluate the existence of different strategic pathways through the time and between the different actors.

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