New Plant Varieties Protection In China

Rights for new variety of plant (NVP) are a type of intellectual property right to protect innovations in agricultural and forestry breeding. China established the legal protection for new varieties of plants through the Regulations for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants in 1997 and acceded to the International Convention for the Protection of New Plant Varieties of Plants in 1999. Over the past 20 years, protection has expanded to a growing number of plant varieties, while the number of applications also has been increasing year-by-year, making China the country with the largest number of annual applications for agricultural plant varieties. This article will explain the basic rules and procedures a plant breeder must know for protecting his or her rights for new varieties in China.