The first patented animal (US patent 4, 736.866 for the so called ''on
comouse'') has led to worldwide activities as to legal protection of i
nventions in animal breeding. In October 1988, the Commission of the E
uropean Communities submitted to the Council a draft directive ''on th
e legal protection of biotechnological inventions' that would explicit
ly allow the patenting of bioengineered life forms - everything from a
gene to an entire animal - in the nations of the European Communities
(EC). In the following article the problems regarding patenting inven
tions in animal breeding and the current situation in creating a speci
al breeding right for animals (comparable to special plant variety rig
hts) are discussed.