The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act,
2001 (hereafter referred to as "the Act") provides an
effective system for the protection of varieties, the rights of
breeders and farmers, and encourages the development of new
varieties. The registration of a variety under the Act confers an
exclusive right on the breeder to produce, sell, market,
distribute, import, or export the variety under Section 28 of the
Act.
The effect of the grant of registration under the Act is
'quid pro qua' i.e., the monopoly granted to an
applicant for the term of registration must accompany the knowledge
disclosed to the public. It means that the holder of plant variety
registration would secure financial gain in return on investment
made in R&D activities during the life of registration of
variety. However, in return, the applicant needs to fully disclose
the developments claimed in the variety developed so that the
protected variety could be produced by any person after
