Plant Variety Rights (also called Plant Breeders'
Rights) are a form of intellectual property right designed
specifically to protect new varieties of plants. These rights offer
legal protection as a reward for the investment plant breeders make
in breeding and developing new varieties.
The Plant Variety Right entitles the holder to prevent any
unauthorised person from:
- production or reproduction
(multiplication);
- conditioning for the purpose of
propagation;
- offering for sale; selling or
other marketing;
- exporting;
- importing and stocking for any
of these purposes.
The Plant Variety Right also extends to any variety which is
dependent on the protected variety. Dependent varieties are
defined as those whose repeated production requires the repeated
use of the protected variety (i.e. hybrids), or those which are
essentially derived from a protected variety which is not itself
essentially derived.
