01Why IP matters in agriculture
Agriculture is more knowledge-intensive than it looks. A new vaccine, a drought-tolerant cultivar, a genetic test, a feed formulation, a precision-farming tool or a well-curated herd database can each be the result of years of research, and each can be protected, licensed and commercialised as intellectual property (IP).
At the Agri X Fusion Red Meat Value Chain Collaboration Summit, Dr Gerard Verhoef, IP and Technology Attorney at Barnard Inc, showed how widely university–industry collaboration already reaches into the sector: animal feed trials with feedlots and feed producers, genetic testing with breeder associations, breeding programmes such as the IDC’s Nguni work, organic fertilisers and pesticides, cultivar development and nurseries, water and invasive species, precision farming, biodiversity, bioprospecting and biobanks, and even land questions under section 25 of the Constitution.
He also set out the biotrade value chain, from the natural environment (land and the social environment), through products and services (raw materials and first-level value add), to access to markets (compliance and regulatory requirements, logistics and retail). Value, and the rights that protect it, are created at every link.
We want to make sure the IP is not dying on a shelf.Jetane Charsley, NIPMO
02The main types of IP you’ll meet in agriculture
Patents protect new inventions, such as a novel vaccine, diagnostic method or piece of equipment. Plant breeders’ rights protect new plant varieties: South Africa’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2018 came into force on 1 June 2025, aligning the country with the UPOV 1991 convention and offering protection of up to 30 years for trees, vines, sugar cane and potatoes, and 25 years for other crops.
Trade marks protect brands. Geographical indications (GIs) protect products whose qualities come from where they’re produced: Karoo Lamb, for example, is a registered South African GI. Copyright protects software, databases, manuals and publications, and confidential know-how and trade secrets protect processes that are hard to reverse-engineer.
Data is an increasingly important part of the picture. As Dr Keoagile Modisakeng of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) pointed out, institutions such as the ARC hold national assets, including the National Databank for stock and game identification and INTERGIS, the Integrated Registration and Genetic Information System, that the whole value chain depends on.
03Publicly funded research: the IPR Act and NIPMO
Much agricultural research in South Africa happens at universities, science councils such as the ARC, and other publicly funded institutions. IP that comes out of that work is governed by the Intellectual Property Rights from Publicly Financed Research and Development Act 51 of 2008 (the IPR Act), in force since August 2010.
The Act created the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO), which sits under the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. NIPMO’s role is to enable the identification, protection, use and commercialisation of IP from publicly funded research. It oversees compliance with the Act, supports institutions’ Offices of Technology Transfer, administers funding for IP protection, and ensures institutions have benefit-sharing policies in place.
As Jetane Charsley, Chief Director at NIPMO, explained at the Agri X Fusion Red Meat Value Chain Collaboration Summit, the Act changed the purpose of publicly funded research. Before the legislation, most research outputs ended up in publications. Now, regulation expects those outputs to be put to use and implemented for the benefit of the community.
04A signal from government
In his message to the Agri X Fusion Red Meat Value Chain Collaboration Summit, Minister of Agriculture Willie Aucamp announced that the ARC’s board had agreed to make its FMD vaccine intellectual property available to qualified private entities to manufacture, to increase vaccine supply over the long term. It is a high-profile example of publicly funded IP being licensed out to meet a national need.
05Who owns the IP, and what are your options?
By default, IP from publicly financed research belongs to the institution that performed the research, not to the individual researcher, the funder or the state. For companies that co-fund or partner on research, that can come as a surprise. But as Jetane Charsley put it: don’t be alarmed if the university owns your IP.
In practice there are three main routes. Licensing: the institution owns the IP and licenses it to your company. This is usually the simplest route, and the Act gives institutions specific benefits that are designed to ensure industry has access to their IP. Co-ownership: legally possible, but in her words “a nightmare” to implement in practice, because every decision about protection, licensing and enforcement has to be agreed. Paying the full cost: if a private funder pays the full cost of the research, the work is generally treated as privately funded rather than publicly financed, and ownership can be negotiated.
A few other rules are worth knowing. Institutions must give preference to partners who will use the IP in ways that provide the greatest benefit to South Africa’s economy and quality of life. Assigning publicly funded IP to a foreign entity, and some other transactions, need NIPMO’s approval. And the researchers who created the IP are entitled to share in the revenue: at least 20% of the first R1 million and at least 30% of net revenue after that.
06More flexible than you think
At the Agri X Fusion Red Meat Value Chain Collaboration Summit, Panel 4 facilitator Hannes Malan of North-West University put the rules simply: public research institutions operate under an Act, each with a technology transfer office reporting to NIPMO. “If you stay on the court, you can play tennis.” Within that, he said, there is a lot of flexibility and willingness.
Jetane Charsley outlined that flexibility: licences with no upfront fee, deferred payments and exclusive licences are all possible, and institutions can carry the cost of patenting in several countries while a company gets access at a reduced royalty for a period. Where an assignment needs NIPMO approval, she said, it should take about 30 days. “We want to make sure the IP is not dying on a shelf.” On the R&D tax incentive, she noted that industry associations can apply collectively, agreeing a research question and contributing together.
Prof Cloete reminded delegates that not everything needs a patent: sometimes it is better to keep know-how confidential under a non-disclosure agreement. Dr Modisakeng urged companies to think about IP at the start, not the end, with patent searches and freedom-to-operate checks, and to approach the ARC’s technology transfer office early: “We are open for business.”
07Balancing access, protection and public benefit
Dr Keoagile Modisakeng put the central tension clearly: how do we make data and research accessible, protect the IP, and make sure it benefits the people of South Africa? The answer isn’t to choose one over the others. Protection is what gives a company the confidence to invest in turning research into a product; access is what lets the value chain build on shared assets; and public benefit is the purpose that justified public funding in the first place.
Prof Eugene Cloete, CEO of the Cape Higher Education Consortium, argued that good collaboration can’t rely on governance alone. It starts with a shared vision and a research question defined together, so that researchers know what to look for and industry knows what it should get out. When the question is shared, IP discussions become much easier.
08Making collaboration pay: the R&D tax incentive
There’s also a financial reason to collaborate. Under section 11D of the Income Tax Act, companies can deduct 150% of qualifying expenditure on scientific or technological research and development carried out in South Africa. The incentive runs until 31 December 2033.
Projects must be pre-approved by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, and generally only expenditure incurred from about six months before the application is lodged qualifies, so apply early. As Jetane Charsley noted at the Agri X Fusion Red Meat Value Chain Collaboration Summit, R&D undertaken in collaboration with universities and similar institutions can also qualify.
09A practical checklist for industry
- Define the question together with your research partner before the work starts.
- Speak to the institution’s Office of Technology Transfer early, and agree IP terms in writing up front.
- Decide which route suits you: licence (usually simplest), full-cost funding (if you need ownership), or co-ownership (only with clear rules).
- Check whether NIPMO approval is needed, especially for offshore partners or exclusive arrangements.
- Apply for section 11D pre-approval before you incur R&D costs.
- Treat data as an asset: agree who can access it, for what, and how it will be protected.
- Get specialist advice. IP attorneys and technology transfer offices exist to make these partnerships work.
Key takeaways
- IP from publicly funded research belongs to the institution by default, but licensing usually gives industry the access it needs.
- Paying the full cost of research is the main route to negotiating ownership; co-ownership is possible but hard to manage.
- NIPMO oversees the IPR Act and helps institutions turn research into real-world impact.
- Plant breeders’ rights, GIs, trade marks, copyright and data all matter in agriculture.
- The 150% R&D tax deduction can make collaboration with universities pay, with DSTI pre-approval.
Collaborators
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Background on the IPR Act, plant breeders’ rights, geographical indications and the section 11D incentive draws on the public sources listed below; check the current legislation and guidelines, or speak to an IP attorney or tax adviser, before acting.