Plant Varieties

Plant Variety

In order to provide for an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to provide for the development of new varieties of plants it is very necessary to know and help protect the rights of the farmers there was a need of an effective system that would help in protection of plant varieties, protecting the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants.

For this purpose Protection of Plant Varieties and Famer’s Right Act, 2001(PPV & FRA) was established to safeguard the rights of farmers, breeders and their successors.

Under PPV & FR Act the following varieties can be registered:

• New varieties
• Farmer’s varieties
• Extant varieties
• Essentially derived variety

These varieties shall be registered only after they fulfil a certain criteria i.e.

• Novelty : A new variety shall be deemed to be novel if the seed of such variety has not been sold
  1. in India, earlier than one year; or
  2. outside India, in the case of trees or vines earlier than six years, or in any other case, earlier than four years
• Uniformity : A new variety shall be deemed to be uniform if it is sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics.
• Distinctiveness : A new variety shall be deemed to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable from the existing varieties in at least one essential characteristic.
• Stability :A new variety shall be deemed to be stable if its essential characteristics remain unchanged even after repeated propagation.

Registration of New Plant Variety

The owner of a registered variety has right to produce the protected variety, sell the variety, market the variety, distribute the variety, import the variety, export the variety and to stop others from using the variety for any use other than personal use.

If any person who is not a registered breeder of a variety, licensee or agent of a registered variety without the permission of its registered breeder, license or agent produces sells, exports, imports or exports a registered variety or Sells, exports, imports or exports a variety deceptively similar to the registered variety then it would be considered as infringement. But there are certain acts which are not considered as infringement like use of variety for research and experimental purposes allowed, use of variety as an initial variety for the creation of a new variety allowed, repeated use of the variety for commercial production of a new variety is with the authorization of the breeder of the registered variety. In case of infringement the registered owner of the variety has the right to claim for damages or a share of the profits of the infringer.

Term of Protection for a Registered Variety

The term of protection varies depending upon the type of variety:

• For Trees and Vines : 18 years from the date of registration of the variety.
• For Extant varieties : 15 years from the date of notification of that variety by the Central Government under Seed Act, 1966.
• For Other Crop Varieties : 15 years fifteen years from the date of registration of the variety.

At Y&S Legal we have a team of technical as well as legal experts who helps farmers and breeders to get registration under PPV & FR Act which gives them the exclusive right over the variety and they can sell, market, distribute and import/export the variety.

We provide following services to our clients :

• Assistance on filing and prosecuting Plant Variety applications
• Filing notice of opposition/cancellation on client’s behalf
• Obtaining permission and approvals from various authorities
• Assisting clients in the enforcement of their rights in their registered plant varieties
• Giving advice on plant variety protection
• Assisting clients in plant variety maintenance
• Assisting in conducting DUS tests
• Plant variety litigation
• Renewal of registration