marker-assisted selection in wheat - ictsd

416Marker-assisted selection – Current status and future perspectives in crops, livestock, forestry and fishTable 3Examples of trademarks relevant to MASMark Holder Product Use CommentsAFLP® KeyGene Associated with theAFLP process/methodand reagentsDArT® CAMBIA Diversity arraytechnologyABI® Applera Corp. Instruments such ascapillary electrophoresisCreation of polymorphicmarkers based ondifference in DNAsequenceSelection of markersbased on variation fromreference panelsVarious electrophoresisequipment, sequencers,etc.Sybr® Invitrogen Fluorescent dyes Visualization of DNAfragmentsGeneChip® AffymetrixMicroarray on glasssubstrateMicroarrays can be usedfor detection of nucleicacid sequences – DNA orRNAWidely used system; developingcountry institutions oftennegotiate a low/no cost-licenceon a case-by-case basisProprietary technology, oftenlicensed under a BiOS licenceWidely used, associated withmany patented technologiesWidely used, patent on originaldye in this series has expired inmany jurisdictionsWidely used methodology.Affymetrix one of the leaders inthis fieldmentioned earlier, “AFLP” is one exampleof a trademark. This means that in practice,when this method is referred to, the “®”symbol should accompany the term, i.e. thecorrect use of the term would be AFLP ® .Another relevant example would be theCertified Angus Beef ® protected by federaltrademark law in the United States. Inaddition, the names of new markers, newvarieties or types of crops, livestock, etc.would need to be checked by a professionaltrademark searcher if a breeder wished tobe sure that no trademark infringementmight occur by such naming. This is notprecluding the fact that PBRs legislationrequires the breeder to give its candidatevariety a denomination that cannot beregistered as a trademark, as it remainsthe generic denomination of the variety.Table 3 contains examples of trademarksthat are often used as “brand” names,associated with products/processes usedin MAS technologies. Commercial MASpractitioners need to be aware that use ofa trademarked name in conjunction witha product requires the permission of thetrademark holder.Trade secrets and confidentialinformationThese are not registered and, although consideredto be non-statutory IPRs, they areprotected by trade secret law in most countries.Crop breeders have used this approachfor many years to protect the parent linesand information used to produce hybridseeds for sale, and similar approaches areadopted in the poultry and pig industries.This type of IP is defined as commerciallyuseful information that can be saidto have the qualities of being any method,technique, process, formula, programme,design or other information that may beused in the course of production, sales oroperations. It must also meet requirementssuch as not being known to persons generallyinvolved in information of this type;having an actual or potential economicvalue due to its secretive and useful nature;and the owner has taken reasonable measuresto maintain its secrecy. Infringementor non-authorized disclosure/use or misappropriationof a trade secret can result incriminal penalties. These rights might be ofconcern to scientists and breeders who are