INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ON PLANT VARIETIES | THE TERRITORIAL EXTENT OF PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS Aditi Rastogi IPR Wed, Apr 26, 2023, at ,03:37 PM IntroductionIntellectual Property Rights are legal rights granted by Government authorities to control certain products of human intellectual effort and ingenuity. Plant Variety Rights are internationally recognized form of Intellectual Property (IP) used to protect unique plant varieties. The EU has established a system that grants IPR to new plant varieties called Community Plant Variety Right (CPVR). The application of plant variety rights is similar in principle to the IP. Protection offered via copyright on books and patents on a wide range of innovative products, including biological material.What are plant variety rights?Plant variety protection also known as a ‘PLANT BREEDERS’S RIGHT’, is a form of an IPR granted to the breeder of a new plant variety concerning certain acts and the exploitation of the protected variety, which requires the prior authorization of the breeder. As in the case of patents, trademarks and industrial designs, prior examination and grant by the relevant authority are required to establish the breeder’s right. These rights offer legal protection as a reward for the investment plant breeders make in breeding and developing new varieties. Intellectual property rights on plant varieties in India. Earlier, India was not having any legislation to protect breeders’ rights. India signed Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) in 1994. Article 27.3(b) of this agreement required signatories to provide protection to plant varieties either by patents or by sui generic system or by combination of both. Existing Indian Patent Act, 1970 excluded agricultural and horticultural methods of production from patentability. Thus, Protection of plant varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act (PPV&FRA), 2001 came into existence to protect plant breeder’s rights.In India, the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001 is a sui generis system that aims to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties and the rights of plant breeders and farmers.The plant variety right also extends to any variety which is dependent on the protected variety. Dependent varieties are defined as those whose repeated production requires the repeated use of the protected variety (i.e., hybrids), or those which are essentially derived from a protected variety which is not itself essentially derived. The right of plant variety basically does not extend to the holder being able to prevent any act done for private and non-commercial purposes or for the purpose of breeding another variety. If the rights holder is paid an equitable remuneration for this use, then the farmers are able to save seed to use on their own holding.The right can last for 25 to 30 years, depending on the types of plant. PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION UNDER THE UPOV CONVENTIONThe International Union for the protection of New Varieties of Plants, known as ‘UPOV’, is an intergovernmental organization with legal personality and which has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. UPOV was established by the International Convention for the protection of new varieties of plants, which was adopted in Paris in 1961. This was the point at which there was recognition of the intellectual property rights of plant breeders in their varieties on an international basis. THE TERRITORIAL EXTENT OF PLANT VARIETY RIGHTSThe plant variety rights were established under the UPOV. Plant variety rights’ systems are administered in 75 countries worldwide. There are currently over 100,000 plant variety rights in force worldwide.A new plant variety can be protected across the European Union with a CPVR. A new plant variety can be separately protected with a national plant variety right. In the UK, this right is called a Plant Breeder’s Right, England which administers the UKPVR and is a part of the Food and Environment Research Agency. Although the CPVR and PBR cannot operate simultaneously. However, from the exact moment that the UK leaves the EU, none of these varieties protected using CPVR will be protected in the UK unless the UK government enacts legislation transferring all EU-protected varieties to a UK PVR register with the same name, scope of protection, registration date and term as the equivalent CPVR.ConclusionThe Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act proves to be the much-needed legislation to take the agricultural sector to the next level. A person who feels appreciated can do wonders similarly plant breeders require encouragement which will nudge them to be innovative, the farmers are motivated to produce more and better varieties along with developing the economy. References. https://www.kashishworld.com/blog/intellectual-property-rights-on-plant-varieties/ https://www.murgitroyd.com/blog/what-are-plant-variety-rights/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236658842_Intellectual_Property_Rights_System_in_Plant_Breeding .