The procedures for the fixation of trait value or seed price of
registered plant varieties must only be done as per the plant
variety protection law, and based on the agreement between the
right holder and the concerned party, according to a new Notice
issued by the plant variety regulator (see).
The Notice is unique because this is the first time that an IP
regulator has formally issued a legal instrument stating that any
price control of protected items must be in accordance with the
relevant IP legislation.
Critically, the Notice on Plant Breeders' Rights, issued by
the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right ('PPVFR')
Authority (the 'Authority') on 23 January 2019, recognises
that the rights of breeders conferred under the Act cannot be
abrogated in any manner known to law. This Notice strikes at the
root of an ongoing dispute between Indian seed companies and the
multinational giant, Monsanto, where the Indian companies had
obtained registrations for
