This document discusses intellectual property rights (IPR) and plant breeders' rights (PBR). It defines IPR as rights granted to inventors to economically benefit from their inventions. PBR specifically refers to rights granted to plant breeders for new plant varieties they develop. The document outlines the history and development of PBR laws internationally and in India. It describes key aspects of PBR such as scope of protection, time period of rights, exceptions for farmers, and compliance with international trade agreements. Patent rights for inventions are also discussed and compared with PBR.

1. I N T E L L E C T U A L
P R O P E R T Y A N D
P L A N T B R E E D E R
R I G H T ( I P R A N D P B R )
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2. WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ?
• It is an idea, a design, an invention, a manuscript
etc. which can ultimately give rise to production
or application.
• The development of such property as rule,
requires intellectual inputs, ingenuity and
innovativeness and considerable monetary
resources therefore, the innovator of an
intellectual property would like to ensure a fair
reward for its invention. The major problem with
IP is that they can be copied, imitated, or
reproduced and this will minimize the returns to
the original inventor. 2

3. IPR – INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHT
• The right of an inventor to derive economic benefits from his
invention i.e. intellectual properties and this is called IPR. It is
recognized by the government only so long as it is not
detrimental to the society.
• Protection of IPR
• The protection of IPR may take several forms depending
mainly on the type of intellectual property and the type of
protection sought.
• The main forms of IPR protection are
• (1) Trade secrets, (2) patents (3) plant breeders right (PBR)
and (4) copy right
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4. PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHT
(PBR)
• The PBR Act allows the developers of new varieties to
recover their investment in research and development by
giving them control over the multiplication and sale of
the reproductive materials of a new variety like a copy
right, it protects the unique qualities of the varieties being
collected at the time the seed is sold.
• Copy right : It is set of right granted to author / creator of
original work including right to copy, distribute and adopt
the work. It can be licensed, transferred or assigned. It
lasts for a certain period after which it has entered in
public domain.
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5. • Trade mark : It is distinctive sign or indicator used by
an individual or business organization (to identify that
the products / services / consumers with which the
trade mark appears originate from a unique source) to
distinguish its product or services from those of
others. It may include a device, brand, label, name,
signature, work, letter, numerical, shape of goods,
packaging, colour or its combination, smell, sound
etc.
• Trade secret : It is practice or process or pattern or
formula or design or instrument or compilation of
information which is not generally know by which a
business can obtain an economic advantage over
competitors / customers. It does not expire as patent.
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6. • PBR (Plant Breeders’ Right)
• Plant breeding is the single most cost effective way to
increase yield, market value and disease resistance.
PBR will encourage the greater investment in plant
breeding for dramatic increase in the development of
new variety which makes agriculture sector more
efficient and profitable. The holder of the rights may
pursue legal action to claim damages for
infringement (violation) of the right.
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7. • In 1941, the Netherlands for the first time in world began to adopt different
forms of PBR in legislation. PBR was the first to advocate use of Patent to
establish rights of return for plant breeders. In 1961, eight west European
countries met to negotiate a convention called as “Union for the protection
of new varieties of plants (UPOV). UPOV has its head quarter in Geneva
and seeks to make PBR legislation uniform throughout the world. Today
more than 68 nations confirmed PBR laws as suggested by UPOV. UPOV
convention was revised in 1991 and number of contracting countries
introduced the 1991 act into their national laws. India proposed Plant
Varieties Act (PVA) and included both the former act of 1978 and the
revised act of 1991 with some new features like
• Scope of breeder’s right : Production, marketing, exporting and
importing of propagating material.
• Extent of coverage : All species
• Time of protection : 15 years
• Exception of rights : Farmers’ right, if require specifically recognized
• Compulsory licensing : In case of public interest, defined as
reasonable availability of seed and supply of export market
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8. • Other features of PBR
• Production for commercial purpose, all rights reserved to
breeder.
• A grower is allowed to keep portion of the seed for next
crop.
• Exchange between farmers is not allowed.
• Minimum period for protection is 20 years.
• Use of propagating material for scientific purpose and for
creating genetic variability is not dependent on
permission from right holder.
• PBR protection doest not cover breeder methods.
• PBR protection covers new variety but not the parents,
except hybrid variety. 8

9. • PPV & FRA : Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers
Right Act (2001)
• By introducing PBR in legislation, India fulfilled commitments
made under GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs)
and accommodate the demands of the private seed industry.
India is the first country that tried to give concept of farmers’
right, a legal footing in PBR legislation. The principle
objective of plant varieties act is to stimulate both the private
and public investment in the plant breeding research and
enhance the interest of the plant breeders in the development of
outstanding crop varieties and propagating materials by
granting variety protection rights such as control over seed
production, marketing, export and import of seed of new
varieties. The varieties protected by PVA act is termed as
“Protected varieties”.
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10. Farmers’ Rights :
• The farmers’ rights include traditional right of farmers to save, use, exchange, share
and sale propagating material / seed obtained or produced from denomination of
varieties except sale of branded seed or propagating material.
• The farmers will be entitled for suitable compensation from the breeder of the
protected variety or from the seller if found failure in the performance of protected
variety as stated.
GATT consistency :
• A major test of PVA would be its consistency with the provisions of the
Agreements on TRIPS (Trade related intellectual property rights). This agreement
stipulates that members shall provide for the protection of plant varieties either by
patents or by an effective sue generis system (legal protection) or by any
combination thereof. At present the only effective sue generis system existing for
the protection of plant varieties is the PBR system as defined by the UPOV
convention.
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11. Patent rights :
• A patent Is the right granted by government to an inventor to exclude
others from imitating, manufacturing, using or selling the invention in
question for commercial use during the specific period. A patent is just a
piece of paper. Its worth nothing unless it is enforced. The patents are
granted for an invention (including a product), innovation /improvement in
an invention, the process of an invention / product and a concept.
• The chief requirement of the grant of patent are
• Novelty : it must be new and should not be already known to public
• Inventiveness : It must be new invention and should represent a novel
innovation by the person skilled in art.
• Industrial application and usefulness: It should be useful to the society or
nation and must have an industrial application.
• Patentability : The subject matter of the patent must be patentable under
existing law. Generally, it varies from country to county and with time
within the same country.
• Disclosure : The inventor must describe the invention in sufficient details so
that a person of normal skill can reproduce it.
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12. Limitation of patent :
• Time : It is valid for a specific period of time from the date of
award. Generally this period is 15 to 20 years but in India it is 7
to 14 years.
• Space : Patent is valid only in the country in which it is awarded.
It is not valid in other countries.
Procedure to get a patent or how to get a patent
• Submission of an application in a prescribed proforma for a new
invention.
• If the new invention found suitable then patent officials will
publish the detail for information of all concern just to get
challenge against it, if any within a specific time.
• In case, if there is no challenge against a patent application, then
patent official awards the patent to the applicant.
• If the application is challenged by any person, institute or
organization then the arguments and counter arguments of both
the parties are heard by a competent authority of the patent office
and a final decision is taken accordingly on the award of patent.
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13. Patenting of genes and DNA sequences
• Artificially synthesized gene is patentable in all developed countries.
• Patenting of genes isolated from natural organism is controversial.
• In USA, first time patenting of aroA genes which confers glyphosate
resistance, isolated from mutant bacterial cell, was allowed.
• USA allows patenting of the genes which do not have known practical
utility.
• In UK, natural genes are not patentable.
Patent of genes and genetic resources
• Developed countries collected germplasm from developing countries.
• Time may soon come when developing countries will be dependent on
genetic resources of developed countries.
• Another aspect of germplasm collections made from developing nations
relates to the patenting of useful genes isolated from them by organizations
/ individuals of developed countries.
• It is ironical that the country, which was the source of a gene may not be
allowed or may be charged a fee for the use of the same gene.
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14. • Example XA21 gene of rice
• XA21 – resistance of BLB in rice
• Gene was originally discovered by R. C. Chaudhary in Patna (Bihar) on the
wild species, a native of Male (Africa)
• Dr. G. S. Khush working at IRRI, philippines named it as XA21 and
transferred it to Dr. Tanksley (USA)
• Dr Tanksley developed molecular marker flanking XA21, isolated at
University of California, USA and patented.
• Use of XA21 is now controlled by patent, however, it was collected from
Male, Africa
Patenting of life forms
• In India, life forms are not patentable according to Indian Patent Act (1970).
• Micro-organisms developed by genetic engineering are patentable in USA.
• Patenting of plant lines and animal lines are common practices in USA.
• EPC (European Patent Convention) also allowed patent for “Oncomouse”.
EPO did not consider it as animal variety.
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