Look, no other issue seems to set off a firestorm faster than DRM media. The cat and mouse game of the RIAA and media dispersion has been interesting, to say the least. And, with the recent ruling about the Pirate Bay purveyors, it seems that DRM litigation and public discourse is just getting started. It’s interesting that the Pirate Bay is a hub for copyright protected material and not providing the material itself. That will have serious reverberations for the folks like Google who offer connection nodes between searchers and copyrighted material. Something new will emerge from all this warring – I’m convinced of it.
But that’s not why I’m writing. I’m actually writing about something very interesting going on in the agricultural industry. What if intellectual property extends to actual seeds?
The problem with technology is that we have a hard time seeing what will happen beyond our intended purpose for the technology we are employing. Yep, technology always brings with it a host of unintended consequences. The other problem with technology is that it can be used to wield enormous power and reinforce that power. We have seen this in the media space. That power can be used to propogate and inforce information ad nauseum. Just look at marketers. And technology can be used to centralize power, resources, etc. The problem with the internet is that it is decentralized. It is node based. As soon as we brought that model online, the world changed. And now, centralized power brokers are having a heck of a time protecting their turf against it. Good luck.
Folks in DRM factions are fighting for their rights of ownership. And I don’t blame them. Big media companies are fighting for their rights of profit and intellectual owernship. The problem is that we live in a new, decentralized, digital world. The rules have completely changed. It’s almost as if 1700′s England is talking to 20th century America. It’s that radical. So, if you think media rights and ownership are problematic, wait until you get to genetically engineered seeds.
Whether you know it or not, the likes of Monsanto and Syngenta have quietly been genetically modifying our food sources. Now, these modifications are used to resist pesticides, increase growth, etc. They are meant to help grow a crop quicker, faster, and give more yield. Now, remember the point above – technology always has side effects. Always. One such side effect with genetically altered plants is that they can create very resistent weed like plant offshoots. The pollen can also kill off insects that use it. Lots and lots of effects when you start messing with foundational processes that we don’t fully understand.
Anyway, another such issue with these modifications is that they continue to gain widespread acceptance among farmers who are pushed to the ends of their margins. In effect, agribusiness is killing farmers. It is driving them to consolidate into massive mega farms. They overproduce, produce diminishing quality returns on their crops, and make less money. And so the cycle keeps pushing forward. Grow big or go broke. Well, one way to beat the margins is by getting massive yield. And that is where genetically altered seed, pesticides, and the like come in.
Something that seed providers have already made is something aptly named the “Terminator.” A terminator is a seed that will only produce one crop. Yep, take those seeds from your crop and replant and they will not germinate. Think about that for a minute. Did you think your time terminating video of The Matrix was a raw deal? Did you think it was lame when you were not able to transfer a legal copy of your music to another device? This goes way beyond that.
Centralization of food supplies is bad. Food supplies created only for increasing yields and shareholder interests is bad. But creating terminating seeds is outright dangerous. That goes not only for the power that could be wielded by them, but also because of potential wild pollution. Think about if those alterations were somehow to get into the wild. The results could be catastrophic.
Question: what happens when seeds become intellectual property?
PS: For a good legal treatment of the issues, take a look at The Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property’s discussion on IP (intellectual property) and seeds.
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Forget Media DRM, Worry About Seed DRM
Look, no other issue seems to set off a firestorm faster than DRM media. The cat and mouse game of the RIAA and media dispersion has been interesting, to say the least. And, with the recent ruling about the Pirate Bay purveyors, it seems that DRM litigation and public discourse is just getting started. It’s interesting that the Pirate Bay is a hub for copyright protected material and not providing the material itself. That will have serious reverberations for the folks like Google who offer connection nodes between searchers and copyrighted material. Something new will emerge from all this warring – I’m convinced of it.
But that’s not why I’m writing. I’m actually writing about something very interesting going on in the agricultural industry. What if intellectual property extends to actual seeds?
The problem with technology is that we have a hard time seeing what will happen beyond our intended purpose for the technology we are employing. Yep, technology always brings with it a host of unintended consequences. The other problem with technology is that it can be used to wield enormous power and reinforce that power. We have seen this in the media space. That power can be used to propogate and inforce information ad nauseum. Just look at marketers. And technology can be used to centralize power, resources, etc. The problem with the internet is that it is decentralized. It is node based. As soon as we brought that model online, the world changed. And now, centralized power brokers are having a heck of a time protecting their turf against it. Good luck.
Folks in DRM factions are fighting for their rights of ownership. And I don’t blame them. Big media companies are fighting for their rights of profit and intellectual owernship. The problem is that we live in a new, decentralized, digital world. The rules have completely changed. It’s almost as if 1700′s England is talking to 20th century America. It’s that radical. So, if you think media rights and ownership are problematic, wait until you get to genetically engineered seeds.
Whether you know it or not, the likes of Monsanto and Syngenta have quietly been genetically modifying our food sources. Now, these modifications are used to resist pesticides, increase growth, etc. They are meant to help grow a crop quicker, faster, and give more yield. Now, remember the point above – technology always has side effects. Always. One such side effect with genetically altered plants is that they can create very resistent weed like plant offshoots. The pollen can also kill off insects that use it. Lots and lots of effects when you start messing with foundational processes that we don’t fully understand.
Anyway, another such issue with these modifications is that they continue to gain widespread acceptance among farmers who are pushed to the ends of their margins. In effect, agribusiness is killing farmers. It is driving them to consolidate into massive mega farms. They overproduce, produce diminishing quality returns on their crops, and make less money. And so the cycle keeps pushing forward. Grow big or go broke. Well, one way to beat the margins is by getting massive yield. And that is where genetically altered seed, pesticides, and the like come in.
Something that seed providers have already made is something aptly named the “Terminator.” A terminator is a seed that will only produce one crop. Yep, take those seeds from your crop and replant and they will not germinate. Think about that for a minute. Did you think your time terminating video of The Matrix was a raw deal? Did you think it was lame when you were not able to transfer a legal copy of your music to another device? This goes way beyond that.
Centralization of food supplies is bad. Food supplies created only for increasing yields and shareholder interests is bad. But creating terminating seeds is outright dangerous. That goes not only for the power that could be wielded by them, but also because of potential wild pollution. Think about if those alterations were somehow to get into the wild. The results could be catastrophic.
Question: what happens when seeds become intellectual property?
PS: For a good legal treatment of the issues, take a look at The Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property’s discussion on IP (intellectual property) and seeds.
Related Posts: