PRACTICE AREA

PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION

Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA), 2001 is an Act which is a sui generis system to recognise and protect the rights of both commercial plant breeders and farmers in respect of their contribution made in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for development of new plant varieties. PPVFRA 2001 was passed by the Indian legislation to comply with the TRIPS obligations on the part of a member to provide protection to new plant variety either through patent or an effective sui generis system or a combination of these two systems.

The PPVFRA, 2001 recognizes three types of plant varieties:

1. Extant Variety :

An “Extant Variety” means a variety, which is–

1. Notified under section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966 (54 of 1966); or
2. A farmers’ variety; or
3. A variety about which there is common knowledge; or
4. Any other variety which is in the public domain.
2. Farmer Variety :

“Farmers’ Variety” means a variety which-

1. has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in their fields; or
2. is a wild relative or land race of a variety about which the farmers possess the common knowledge;

where farmer means any person who (i) cultivates crops by cultivating the land himself; or (ii) cultivates crop by directly supervising the cultivation of land through any other person; or (iii) conserves and preserves, severely or jointly, with any person any wild species or traditional varieties or adds value to such wild species or traditional varieties through selection and identification of their useful properties.

3. Essentially Derived Variety:

“Essentially Derived Variety” is a variety which is predominantly derived from another variety (protected or otherwise) and conforms to the initial variety in all aspects except for the differences which result from the act of derivation, and yet is clearly distinguishable from such initial variety.

DuxLegis provides following services in Plant Variety registration:

• Providing opinions on availability of registration of a variety;
• Conducting searches in the official journals of plant varieties;
• Preparing and filing applications for registration of a variety;
• Assisting in conducting DUS tests;
• Prosecution and obtaining registrations of varieties;
• Opposing and defending the grant of registration of varieties;
• Renewals of registrations;
• Licensing related to plant varieties and
• Any other related advisory under the Plant Variety Protection and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001.