Opinion: The importance of plant-based patent systems

The plant-based industry is becoming increasingly competitive, with more and more companies entering into legal accusations over patents and proprietary technologies. Isabel Fernández, Heura Foods director of science and technology, gives her perspective on the current situation and future consequences for the industry.

These are very exciting times to be in the food industry and especially at the forefront of the plant-based movement. Plant-based foods are becoming mainstream and with that comes much higher expectations to deliver on cost, nutrition and sensory experience. We are seeing more and more companies quickly flooding the market with products that are apparently different (shapes/formats/protein sources) but essentially the same, ie. foods designed using the same structuring principles and technologies and hence limited by the same constraints.

This model has an expiration date and is already leading the market to its saturation point. I believe innovation-driven growth is the only way out of it and the future scenario for the plant-based industry. In order to get there, two fundamental changes need to happen within the industry: 1. We should start asking the big questions and spending resources on tackling the major challenges around sustainability and ultra-processing/clean label, and 2. We should engage in pre-competitive fundamental research programmes and openly discuss and collaborate towards solving the most basic issues we share.

Fast progress can only happen via error-correction mechanisms. This is the main operating principle of science. The reason why scientific progress, despite its greater complexity, is often faster than technological progress is that science is openly discussed and examined.

Researchers examine each other’s results critically, errors are quickly corrected and the work is judged for its significance and originality. This ensures that only rigorous studies yielding important and novel findings are passed on. When it comes to technological advancement, this path becomes full of obstacles as industries are not openly discussing results and when they do – once patents are published – results are often presented in a rather confusing way precisely to avoid competition.

The patent system is still our best option to incentivise innovation in the private sector while ensuring technological progress. The question is: how do we use it effectively, meaning how do we make sure that we collectively advance towards improving our technologies with regards to environmental impact and health in an increasingly competitive playfield?

What we need are disruptive technologies rooted in exponential progress instead of ie. how to make something different

I think part of the answer lies in the novelty and relevance of our scientific research. I’d like to see more collective, cutting-edge research to ensure we generate ideas and develop technologies from an already advanced scientific understanding. This would lift up the quality and impact of our innovations, technological solutions and patents.

The fight for competitive advantage in the industry would remain, as it should be, but we would be playing in the first league and truly contributing to solving the global challenges. That’s not happening at the moment, the competitive industrial battles we fight are based on small incremental progress ie. how to make something slightly better. What we need are disruptive technologies rooted in exponential progress instead of ie. how to make something different.

Within that context, the question would become how to ensure and facilitate cumulative innovations (whether complementary or sequential) within our current patent system. Major discoveries and breakthrough innovations create a wide range of opportunities not only in terms of applications and benefits but also in downstream (follow-up) innovations. These are cumulative innovations.

Our patent system is imperfect in the sense that it makes it possible for the pioneer inventor to block downstream innovations. If we are to maximise the impact of disruptive innovations in the future, the patent system should be upgraded and legislators should find an optimal balance between the incentives for the pioneers and the follow-up inventors.