Protecting Plant Innovation: Hemp, CBD & Plant IP Laws Under The 2018 Farm Bill

Technological advances increasingly find application in agriculture. From new varieties obtained through improved or genetically enhanced breeding techniques, to "smart" and AI-enhanced farming, intellectual property issues have closely tracked these developments. The United States has more forms of legal protection for plant-related inventions than any other country.

This program will provide an executive summary overview of the core concepts in protecting plant IP (accessible to all audiences) and include an update on the 2018 Farm Bill, which significantly expanded IP protection possibilities and included key changes impacting the Hemp and CBD industries. The course will also review important recent patent caselaw, and best practices to ensure IP protection is not inadvertently lost through common business practices in the product development process. Finally, the presenters will discuss how the ever-expanding legal cannabis industry is interfacing with the complex strata of laws and regulations affecting it, with an emphasis on IP issues.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review the key forms of legal intellectual property protection available to plant-based inventions
2. Analyze the 2018 Farm Bill's significant impact on these IP protections
3. Integrate IP protection programs into product development and avoid loss of key legal rights
4. Discuss the impact of IP laws and regulations, including the 2018 Farm Bill, on the legal cannabis industry