The effect of Plant Breeders’ rights
Both the 1978 and the 1991 Acts set out a minimum scope of protection and offer member States the possibility of taking national circumstances into account in their legislation.
Under the 1978 Act, the minimum scope of the plant breeder’s right requires that the holder’s prior authorization is necessary for the production for purposes of commercial marketing, the offering for sale and the marketing of propagating material of the protected variety. The 1991 Act contains more detailed provisions defining the acts concerning propagating material in relation to which the holder’s authorization is required. Exceptionally, but only where the holder has had no reasonable opportunity to exercise his right in relation to the propagating material, his authorization may be required in relation to any of the specified acts done with harvested material of the variety.
Like all intellectual property rights, plant breeders’ rights are granted for a limited period of time, at the end of which varieties protected by them pass into the public domain. The rights are also subject to controls, in the public interest, against any possible abuse. It is also important to note that the authorization of the holder of a plant breeder’s right is not required for the use of his variety for research purposes, including its use in the breeding of further new varieties.
The agricultural, horticultural and forestry industries and the final consumer all ultimately gain from the additional stimulus that plant breeders’ rights give to the creation of new varieties that are better suited to satisfy man’s needs.