According to the ETC Group the international pesticide and crop giant Syngenta has agreed to give up a 323-page patent application in up to 115 countries on DNA that regulates flowering development in rice. The patent claims had even extended to flowering plants in general. Meanwhile the International Convention on Biodiversity`s Working Group on "Access and Benefit-Sharing" started negotiations in Bangkok.</p><p><a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/article.asp?newsid=502">ETC: Syngenta to let Mega-Genome Patent Lapse - "Daisy-cutter" Patent Bomb busted</a></p><p><a href="http://www.biodiv.org/meetings/abswg-03/default.shtml">CBD homepage on access and benefit sharing negotiations</a>