On April 30, China's State Council released the revised
Regulations on the Protection of New Plant Varieties (the '2025
Regulations'), which will come into effect on June 1, 2025.
The revision not only implements the relevant provisions of the
previously revised Seed Law, but also further improves the systems
related to the protection of new plant varieties. Significant
adjustments have been made in terms of the scope of protection,
validity of variety rights, authorization requirements, extension
of the protection periods, and penalties for infringements. To
facilitate a deeper understanding of the practical implications of
these revisions, this article provides an analysis of five key
revisions with reference to representative cases and provides
actionable suggestions.
