02 July 2017
Barley, brewing and beer are all old and well known traditions, which anybody can use. Nevertheless the European Patent Office (EPO) has granted patents to Heineken and Carlsberg for regularly bred barley. With the patent these transnational corporations own the barley from the seed to the pint of beer. Not only is it outrageous these greedy corporations want to own a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, but in granting the patent, the EPO is in breach of EU law. Not only, for every patent they approve, they get paid.
We have a good chance to stop the patent on barley and to stop such patents from ever being granted. The EU already gave in to people’s pressure last year when more than 570.000 Europeans signed our petition, and declared that patents cannot be granted for plants and animals, unless they’re genetically modified.
And victories keep rolling in. At the end of June, the European Patent Office decided not to grant patents on conventional bred plants anymore. Patents on tomatoes broccoli are impossible now! Unfortunately the patents on brewing barley might still be possible - and so our struggle continues. We have filed a legal objection against it and we’ll keep you in the loop. In the meantime please support us and sign!