Paul Bremer, in his role as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq, ordered a change to Iraqi patent law before he left the country last June. The order was only one among 100 orders left behind by Bremer - all of which carry the force of law until such time as an Iraqi government alters or repeals them - and it effectively makes it illegal for Iraqi farmers to save and reuse any seed from "protected" varieties of crops. These include "new, distinct, uniform and stable" varieties bred almost exclusively by agribusiness corporations such as Monsanto.

The term of the monopoly is 20 years for crop varieties and 25 for trees and vines. During this time the protected variety de facto becomes the property of the breeder, and nobody can plant or otherwise use this variety without compensating the breeder. This new law means that Iraqi farmers can neither freely legally plant nor save for re-planting seeds of any plant variety registered under the plant variety provisions of the new patent law. This deprives farmers what they and many others worldwide claim as their inherent right to save and replant seeds.

As far as I can tell, the terms of the new patent law don't apply to the existing varieties of crops that farmers in Iraq have been growing for thousands of years, although that sounds like a much larger loophole than it really is. For example, patents on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not on the organisms themselves, but rather on novel genes in those organisms. This means that any plant containing the novel gene is legally the property of the breeder.

In some countries like India, the 'accidental' release of GM crops is deliberately manipulated, since physical segregation of GM and GM-free crops is not feasible. Once introduced into the agro-ecological cycle there is no possible recall or cleanup from genetic pollution.

The above is a fairly judgmental take on GMOs, but the technical point is correct - if it's genes that are patented, then as those genes spread from legitimately purchased GM crops they can "pollute" the crops of other farmers through good old sexual reproduction. These non-GM crops will now produce some seeds that carry the novel gene. Such "polluted" seeds would legally be the property of the original breeder, and any farmer who grows crops from them would be in violation of the new patent law.

Thanks to gianik at DailyKos for the tipoff.