This report conveys the main views and impressions from the conference "Old Genes or new genes - Possibilities and limitations" which was held on 13 December 2005 at Eigtveds Pakhus in Copenhagen. The conference was arranged as a court-room drama. Two lawyers - Per Pinstrup-Andersen from Cornell University and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark, and Bert Visser from the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands - elaborated on the possibilities and limitations of gene technology and traditional breeding in the development of new crop plants. Johan Bodegård from the National Resources Department in Sweden was the judge who chaired the discussion and acted as a moderator. The audience participated as a jury by responding to questions that referred to the themes of the conference.