Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Alcock, Frank

Area of Concentration

Environmental Studies

Abstract

From the arrival of the first European settlers, Americans have depended upon the assistance of other cultures for survival and development. Welcoming all help for America’s progress, the American elite consistently insisted upon property delineation and private ownership rights to further their own initiatives. These initiatives prevailed when they were focused on values such as innovation, sustainability, diversification, and resilience for the betterment of the whole country. Over time, these values were perverted for use of endorsing strict intellectual property protection justifications that appear to serve private interests profits above all else. The steady incline of agricultural biotechnology intellectual property rights protections in intricacy, number, and strength creates complicated implications for the future of innovation in biotechnology. The utilization of those protections creates further complications in national and global understandings of property right protections’ ability to serve the common good. This historical narrative provides the evolution of patentability of plants and plant matter in the United States. Framed by James Madison’s understanding of the importance of innovation and sustainability, this narrative serves to educate the reader of the exploitative nature of the private seed industry. Who does the current plant patent regime really serve?

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