Looks like the intend is similar to the GPL in software. However, the word “pledge” seems a little vague to me. Also the article makes it seem as it there is no intellectual property behind Open Source seeds. If so, than that looks like a mistake, at least from the software perspective I’m having. In software copy-left licenses only work because copyright law exists, as copyright law allows the creator to formulate the license. Permissive open source licenses are subject to patenting and exploitation by corporate entities.