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UC Davis to Host PIPRA

Starting in July 2004, the University of California, Davis will host PIPRA. UC Davis provides an outstanding environment for the start-up of the new organization that will support the development and implementation of PIPRA's activities to facilitate access to agricultural innovations for humanitarian purposes and specialty crops.

Dr. Alan Bennett, currently Executive Director of the Office of Technology Transfer in the Office of the President of the University of California, will serve as the interim Executive Director of PIPRA for a one year period beginning in July 2004. He will be responsible for the organizational development of PIPRA.

UC Davis and Dr. Bennett were selected from an impressive set of proposals and applications submitted to a Request for Proposals and a Position Announcement issued by PIPRA in November 2003. For more information on the selection process, please contact Rex Raimond of Meridian Institute by phone (970-513-8340) or email (rraimond@merid.org).

GLOSSARY

  • What is a staple or subsistence crop?

    Staple (or subsistence) crops are important food crops in developing countries. Examples include rice, cassava, bananas, and various varieties of native beans.

  • What is a specialty crop?

    Specialty crops are important commercial crops that are grown in specific regions rather than across broad areas involving tens of millions of acres. Examples include: lettuce, tomatoes, oranges, pumpkins, cranberries, cucumbers, grapes, apples, cabbage, peas, walnuts, and broccoli.

  • What is agricultural biotechnology?

    Many definitions of agricultural biotechnology exist. Some internationally agreed definitions are: "Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (Convention on Biological Diversity), or " Interpreted in a narrow sense, … a range of different molecular technologies such as gene manipulation or gene transfer, DNA typing and cloning of plants and animals" (Food and Agricultural Organization's Statement on Biotechnology).

  • What are intellectual property rights?

    Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the legal framework, which includes patenting and plant variety protection, by which inventors control the commercialization of their work.

  • What is freedom to operate?

    Freedom to operate (FTO), for the purposes of the PIPRA discussion, is understood to mean: the ability to clear all intellectual property barriers, as well as regulatory and cultural constraints, and bring a new product to market.

  • What is meant by the public sector?

    The public sector includes universities, government agencies, international research institutions, and other institutions with a clear public mission.

  • What is the Land Grant College System?

    The Morrill Act of 1862 established the Land Grant College system. It created land grant colleges in every state and the District of Columbia to teach agriculture and related fields. The system was expanded in 1890 to include historically black colleges and Tuskegee University. More information on land grant colleges can be obtained from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (http://nasulgc.org).

  • What is the Bayh-Dole Act?

    The Patent and Trademark Law Amendments Act (P.L. 96-517) as enacted in 1980, and amendments included in P.L. 98-620, enacted into law in 1984. More information on the Bayh-Dole Act and its importance for technology transfer can be obtained from the Council on Governmental Relations (http://www.cogr.edu).