diversity must be reflected within intellectual property rights laws in order for them to exist as an effective protection of plant breeders' rights. As a result of this conflict concerning authority over seeds, new legislation has been implemented in the United States. The Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) is a national attempt that has been introduced within the United States, and is the first of its kind to model its approach regarding plant breeders' rights upon the mechanisms implemented by openly sourced software mechanisms. Subsequent discourse on this approach has arisen, as concerns with the use of open source technology within a legal framework have developed. Some perceive OSSI as having significantly limited plant breeders' ability to access intellectual property rights for new plant varieties. This has resulted in claims that funding for research and development in this sector will also decline. Seed sovereignty Seed sovereignty can be defined as the right “to breed and exchange diverse open-sourced seeds.” Generally, it comes from the belief that communities should have control over their own seed stock, as a means to increase agricultural biodiversity, resilience, and food security. This idea is closely connected to issues of intellectual property rights, particularly related to the patenting of plant genetics, due to the importance of seed saving in seed sovereignty. Activists argue that farmers and individuals should have legal protection for the practice for maintaining traditional plant varieties. Seed sovereignty activists also argue that seed saving should be protected on the grounds of environmentalism and food security. Some activists argue that seed sovereignty is important because of the cultural value of certain seeds and plant varieties, especially among indigenous communities. Seed sovereignty has strong ties to the food justice and food sovereignty movements, due to its focus on increasing food security for all communities. See also Plant breeding Plant genetic resources Biodiversity Biopiracy / Bioprospecting Germplasm Seedbank Access and Benefit Sharing Agreement Farmers' rights / Peasants' rights Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity UPOV Convention on New Varieties of Plants United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty) World Intellectual Property Organization Genetic resources (disambiguation) Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) National laws (Plant Patent Act of 1930, Plant Variety Protection Act - USA; Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 - India) References External