The document discusses the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act of India. It provides an overview of intellectual property rights as they relate to plant varieties, summarizes key aspects of the Act including rights granted to breeders and farmers, and eligibility criteria for plant variety registration. The Act aims to encourage development of new plant varieties while also protecting traditional farming practices and benefitting farming communities.

1. The Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights Act
Submitted by,
Name: Mahendra Pal
M.F.Sc.
College of fisheries,
JAU, Veraval

2. INTRODUCTION
Intellectual property (IP)
• Creations of the human mind
• Legal concept
Two categories: Copyright
 Novels, poems plays, films,
 Musical works,
 Artistic works: drawings,
paintings, photographs
sculptures,
 Architectural designs.
Industrial property
 Inventions (patents),
 Trademarks,
 Industrial designs,
 Geographic indications of
source;
India introduced for the first time the provision of granting
exclusive privilege in 1856.

3. PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION
•India proposed, the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and
Farmers Rights Bill, 1999.
•Protection for all genera and species notified by the Central
Government for a period of 15 and 18 years for herbaceous and
woody species respectively.
Features
•Reuse of farm- saved seeds is provided as farmer’s rights.
•Community rights are honoured by the provision of benefit
sharing.
•National Gene Fund and sanction of schemes are proposed as
instruments.

4. THE PROTECTION OF PLANT VARIETY
AND FARMERS RIGHTS ACT
• The Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Rights act was
enacted in India in 2001
• The act has come into force on 30.10.2005 through
Authority.
• Department Agriculture and Cooperation is the
administrative ministry looking after its registration and
other matters.
• The development of new plant varieties which in turn
facilities the growth of the seed industry.

5. REASONS FOR ENACTING THE PPVFR
ACT:
• To protect Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) associated in
the process of new plant varieties development.
• To encourage public and private investments in developing
new plant varieties.
• To ensure availability of high quality seed and planting
material to farmers by promoting seed industries.
• To recognize the contributions of the farmers in conserving,
improving and develop new plant varieties.
To breeders
To farmers
To researchers

6. FEATURES OF PPVFR ACT
Types of plant varieties
Farmers’ varieties
Extant varieties
New varieties.
Farmers’ varieties are those traditional varieties developed
and conserved by farmers.
Extant varieties are those varieties in existence which are
bred by public and private institutions and released for
cultivation by state or central variety released committee
within last 15 years and also farmers’ varieties or other
varieties in public domain.

7. CONT...
New varieties are those recently developed varieties,
which are either breed by scientist breeder or by
farmers.
Other important features
1)Researchers’ Rights
2)Benefit sharing breeders and farming or tribal
communities who have contributed for conservation
of genetic diversity used for developing varieties by
the breeders, and
3)Creation of national gene fund for promoting
conservation.

8. PLANT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS (PBRs)
•A special form of IPRs created to provide incentives for the
seed industry.
•The initial move to harmonize PBRs emerged with the UPOV
(International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of
Plants ) in 1961.
FEATURES
•Research exemption (a protected variety may be used in
competing breeding programs
•Farmers privilege: use and exchange of saved seeds allowed
but not sale of seeds.

9. CONT...
Eessentially derived variety (EDV)
Accordingly under UPOV 1991,
• Predominantly derived from the initial variety itself
• Fulfills the normal protection criteria of novelty, distinctness,
uniformity and stability,
•Cannot be exploited without the authorization of the breeder
of the protected variety.

10. RIGHTS OF FARMERS
PPVFR Act acknowledges role of farmers in Conserving genetic diversity,
 Their poor economic means to buy seeds for every sowing,
 Their poor legal literacy
 Honours their traditional rights on seed to promote conservation
 Provides several rights to the farmers
1)Farmers’ Right on seeds;
2)Farmers’ Right to register traditional varieties;
3)Farmers’ Right for reward and recognition;
4)Farmers’ Right for benefit sharing;
5)Farmers’ Right for seeds of registered varieties;
6)Farmers’ Right for receiving free services;

11. REASONS WHY FARMERS SHOULD
REGISTER THEIR VARIETIES
•Registration of farmers’ varieties are totally free
•To establish intellectual property rights of farmers on their
varieties
•For harnessing commercial potential of farmers’ varieties
•For establishing ownership on farmers’ varieties
•For safeguarding farmers’ varieties from piracy

12. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR
REGISTRATION
Novel
Befor registration the propagating or harvested
material of such a variety has not been sold, disposed by
breeder or his successor for the purpose of exploitation of such
variety.
Distinct
If it is clearly distinguishable by at least one
essential characteristic from any other variety

13. CONT...
Uniform
: If subject to the variation that may be expected from
the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently
uniform in its essential characteristics
Stable
: If its essential characteristics remain unchanged
after repeated propagation or, in the case of a particular cycle
of propagation, at the end of each such cycle

14. CONT...
The office of registrar accept applications for registration of
crops:
Rice, Wheat, Maize,
Sorghum, Pearl millet,
Chickpea, Green gram,
Black gram, Lentil,
Kidney bean etc.

15. RESEARCHERS RIGHTS
The researchers have been provided access to protected
varieties for research purposes
It states that:
Registered varieties can be used for research or
experiments
Use of registered variety as initial variety for purpose of
creating other varieties with the authorization of breeder
where the repeated use as parental line is necessary

16. TOTAL SPECIES FOR REGISTRATION
There are a total of 21 species at present that could be registered
which are broadly divided into three categories
 Pulses
Coarse cereals
Oil seeds
Other new species for which approval is awaited
22 species such as
- 8 vegetable crops
- 1 fruit: mango
- 1 flower plant: Rose
- 10 oil seed crops

17. TERM OF PROTECTION UNDER
SEC-24 (6)
Trees and vines – 18 years from registration
Extant varieties –
15 years from the date of notification variety
by the central government under section 5 of the
seeds act, 1966
Others- 15 years from the date of registration of variety

18. PERSONS WHO CAN APPLY
Any person claiming to be the breeder of variety or any
successor of breeder of variety
Any person being the assignee of breeder of the variety
Any farmer or group of farmers or community of farmers
claiming to be breeder of variety
Any person authorized in the prescribed manner by persons
mentioned above
Any university or publicly funded agricultural institution
claiming to be breeder of the variety

19. REGISTRATION
•Any person as described under sec 16 of the Act, can apply for
the registration of a new variety either directly or through their
agents.
•The office of registrar, Protection of plant varieties and
Farmers’ Rights Authority is the appropriate office for filing
the application in India
 Applicant can file a completely filled application with
registrar for any variety of such genera and species as
specified
 Made available such quality of seeds of variety for
registration along prescribed fee

20. COCLUSION
•Panchyat can make an effective contribution in enabling the
farmers to access the rights provided in the PPVFR Act
•The farmers need to form NGO since alone, they will not be
able to take benefit of the registration by registering their
varieties so that they can protect their varieties being scavenged
by formal breeders.

21. CONT...
• Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Right Authority
was established in October 2005 and its Head Quarters is
located at NASC Complex, DPS Marg, Opp-Todapur, New
Delhi – 110 012.
• Any information regarding protection, application, fee
structure etc can be obtained from the office or at
http://www.Plantauthority.gov.in/

22. Thank you