The European Patent Office ( EPO ) has revoked a Bayer - owned patent relating to a type of broccoli with an “ exerted head ” that makes them easier to harvest . The patent was originally granted to Monsanto in 2013 . Jason Rutt, patent attorney at Boult Wade Tennant, noted that while the EPO guidance was revised in 2017, the patent was granted in 2013. An opposition was filed in 2014 by a number of organisations , including No Patents on Seeds . In March 2017 , EPO excluded from patentability plants and seeds obtained by an essentially biological breeding method . No Patents on Seeds , said the ruling was the first time that a patent was revoked because of the new technology .
The European Patent Office ( EPO ) has revoked a Bayer - owned patent relating to a type of broccoli with an “ exerted head ” that makes them easier to harvest . The patent was originally granted to Monsanto in 2013 . An opposition was filed in 2014 by a number of organisations , including No Patents on Seeds . In March 2017 , EPO excluded from patentability plants and seeds obtained by an essentially biological breeding method . No Patents on Seeds , said the ruling was the first time that a patent was revoked because of the new technology .