Abstract

Why does property so often fall short of our expectations? And why do we nevertheless keep proposing property as the solution to our problems, from personal data to cultural heritage? At the End of Property tries to answer this question by exploring the crises of property in the plant breeding industry. For the last 30 years, property has been a contentious issue in the seed sector – and yet, ever-new forms of property are created to fix existing ones. The book follows the making and remaking of property in plants: from the initial success of plant variety protection in fixing the seed market to the patenting of transgenic plants to recent disputes over genetic resources and seed reuse. Drawing from socio-legal studies, anthropology and science and technology studies, it develops a concept of property as a particular legal, practical and material way of relating people to things. Despite its contentiousness, property has historically been a successful way of organizing objects and subjects. But there are only so many things and relations that can be turned into property before property falls apart legally, practically or materially. Therefore, the more we rely on property, the more problems we will summon. In overstretching the institution of property, we thus risk sacrificing its achievements.Recent decades have witnessed the creation of new types of property systems, ranging from data ownership to national control over genetic resources. This trend has significant implications for wealth distribution and our understanding of who can own what.This book explores the idea of ownership in the realm of plant breeding, revealing how plants have been legally and materially transformed into property. It highlights the controversial aspects of turning seeds, plants and genes into property and how this endangers the viability of the seed industry.Examining ownership not simply as a legal concept, but as a bundle of laws, practices and technologies, this is a valuable contribution that will interest scholars of intellectual property studies, the anthropology of markets, science and technology studies and related fields.This book explores the idea of ownership in the realm of plant breeding, revealing how plants have been legally and physically transformed into property. It highlights the controversial aspects in the process of turning seeds, plants and genes into property and how this endangers the viability of the seed industry.