Why didn't Grandpa Yuan Longping apply for the patent of hybrid rice?

Yuan Longping's hybrid rice belongs to the scope of intellectual property protection, but it can't apply for a patent, because the fourth item of Article 25 of the Patent Law stipulates that new plant varieties can't apply for a patent right. Moreover, hybrid rice technology is approved by the state and funded by the state.

Article 25 No patent right shall be granted to the following projects:

(1) scientific discoveries;

(2) rules and methods of intellectual activities;

(3) Methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases;

(4) Species of animals and plants;

(5) substances obtained by nuclear transformation;

(six) the design of the pattern, color or the combination of the two.

The production method of the products listed in Item (4) of the preceding paragraph may be granted a patent right in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Patent right is the exclusive right to exploit a specific invention and creation within a certain period of time, and it is a kind of intellectual property right. China promulgated the Patent Law on 1984, and the detailed rules for its implementation on 1985, which made specific provisions on related matters.

The word "patent" comes from Latin "Litterae patentes", which means open letters or open documents. It is a certificate used by medieval monarchs to issue certain privileges, and later refers to the exclusive right certificate signed by the British king himself. Patents are the largest source of technical information in the world. According to empirical statistical analysis, patents contain 90%-95% of the global scientific and technological information.