Joint Venture Agreement in India
Another industry that has increasingly been dominated by the private sector and emerging entrepreneurs is “plant breeding”. Most plant breeders have been specifically noticed to be the new generation of young farmers who have turned to this prospectively bright entrepreneurial venture. Thus, these entrepreneurs have an extremely sound and in-depth knowledge of all the local varieties and their breeding necessities.
Since the Indian Patents Act, 1970, excluded agriculture and horticulture from being patentable, a sui generis scheme was required to be created by framing a law on the protection of plant variety by the end of 2000. To encourage such breeders and the indigenous plant varieties bred by them, India brought the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (PPV&FR) in 2001. This act has stood the test of the last two decades helping hundreds of farmers and breeders secure their Intellectual Property rights in agriculture through registration, verification, and protection of their rights on the specific plant varieties they breed.
How is this useful to entrepreneurs in the breeding sector
The PPV&FR act has been enacted to establish a system through which the government can consistently encourage the development of new varieties of plants with better properties and performances. It recognizes the rising entrepreneurial breeders and the need to protect plant breeders' rights to stimulate investment for research and development. Thus, it allows the breeders to apply and register for protecting their varieties and punish any breach.
Who can apply for registration: Section 16
Section 16 covers a range of persons who can apply for the registration of their plant variety. Under Section 16, clauses (a) to (c), the Act provides specifically for private sector breeders and entrepreneurs. Any breeder, including the successors or assignee of such breeder, can make an application for registration under Section 14 of the same Act.
Other people who can make a registration are farmers. And, Universities or publicly funded agricultural institutions who can act as the breeders of the particular variety (public sector) are also allowed to make such registration.
Criteria for registrability of the plant variety: Section 14, 15, and 29
Section 14 provides that any variety of plants can be registered as long as it is an extant variety or the farmer’s/breeder’s variety. The criteria for what shall be considered as a breeder’s variety worthy of protection and registration is similar to the general rules in Intellectual Property law and is also reiterated in Section 15 of the Act.
1. Novelty: A variety is considered as a novel under Section 15(3)(a) of the Act if, at the date of filing of the application for registration for protection, the harvested material of such variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of by the breeder for the exploitation of such variety, earlier than one year before the application date. In cases where the region concerns outside India for trees or vines, then the threshold applicable is earlier than 6 years, and for other varieties, it is 4 years.
2. Distinctiveness: A variety is considered as a novel under Section 15(3)(b) of the Act if it is distinguishable without any confusion by at least one essential characteristic factor from any other variety whose existence is known in the world while filling the application for registration.
3. Uniform: A variety is considered as a novel under Section 15(3)(c) of the Act if it is sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics.
4. Stable: A variety is considered as a novel under Section 15(3)(d) of the Act if its essential characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation.
Varieties that need to be prevented from commercial exploitation for the sole purpose of benefit to the public, and the general public good, cannot be allowed to be registered, however much it fulfils the requirements and criteria for registration. This is provided under Section 29 of the Act to prevent loss to the public when invaluable benefits are concerned.
Form of application: Section 18
This section provides the details as to the form of the application, and all the details that need to be enclosed. Here is a checklist for all breeding entrepreneurs with respect to the application to register their plant varieties.
- Every application must assign a denomination to its plant varies according to the rules prescribed. Such denomination assigned by the applicant must be clearly stated in the application for registration.
- An affidavit must be attached to the application declaring that the variety does not involve the gene or gene sequence of terminator technology.
- Complete data on the passport of the parental lines from which the plant variety has been discovered or derived must be attached to the application form in detail.
- Detailed specifications on the geological location from where the gene of the variety has been obtained/developed must be provided in the application form.
- Details on the farmers/organizations/communities that were involved in helping the breeding must be specified clearly in the application form.
- A description of the variety and the specific characteristics that highlight the criteria of novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability must be expressed clearly in the form.
- A declaration must be attached to the application form by the applicant declaring that the gene material for the plant variety has been obtained through legal means.
- All other particulars, if any, are required by the applicant to be mentioned in the form.
- Every applicant must keep ready a quantity of the breeding seeds in order for the Registrar to test whether the variety meets the criteria under the Act while applying.
If there are no objections to the application, the Registrar shall approve the registration. On the registration of the variety, the Registrar will issue a certificate of registration in the prescribed form to the applicant. After such successful registration, the breeder has to deposit a prescribed quantity of the seed variety, including the parental line of seeds, in the National Gene Bank.
Validity of Registration
The total period of validity from the date of registration shall not exceed :
- 18 years for trees and vines
- 15 years for extant varieties (from the date of notification by Central government)
- 15 years for all other varieties
Grounds where the registration can be cancelled: Section 34
The certificate would be revoked when the applicant has provided any false or incorrect information that is discovered later, or if the applicant has been found to have not been eligible to apply for registration in the first instance. The registration will also be canceled if it is found that the applicant did not comply with all the necessary documentation requirements in the form of application, or if the variety violates Section 29 where commercial exploitation will hinder public interest.
Conclusion
PPV&FR Act is a boon to creative breeders and researchers. The entrepreneurs in this area, as previously mentioned, are farmers who have turned to the commercial aspect of breeding. The local varieties and discoveries can now be successfully registered, and the commercial benefits this yields for new-age entrepreneurs are manifold. A proper understanding of the criteria prescribed under this Act and a guided filling of the application for registration can ensure more than a decade of monopolistic profits for the entrepreneurs on their variety.
Bibliography
1. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (the primary source of the article)
Secondary Sources:
2. Intellectual property and agriculture
by Chairperson and Registrar-General, respectively, of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
3. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority website
http://www.plantauthority.gov.in/
4. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT AND INDIAN AGRICULTURE
By Policy Brief
http://www.ncap.res.in/upload_files/policy_brief/pb4.pdf