Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) (Amendment) Act, 1998

Amendment of section 4 of Principal Act.

5.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 4 :

“Plant breeders' rights.

4.— (1) In this Act ‘plant breeders’ rights’ means all proprietary rights in relation to any variety of any plant genus or species which has been independently bred or discovered and developed.

(2) Plant breeders’ rights which apply to a protected variety shall also apply to—

(a) a variety which is essentially derived from that protected variety, where that protected variety is not itself an essentially derived variety,

(b) a variety which, having regard to the First Schedule to this Act (as amended by section 14 of the Plant Varieties (Proprietary Rights) (Amendment) Act, 1998) is not clearly distinguishable from that protected variety, and

(c) a hybrid variety.

(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply to an essentially derived variety which was known to exist before the coming into operation of this Act.

(4) In this Act—

‘essentially derived variety’ means a variety that is essentially derived from another variety if—

(a) the essentially derived variety is predominantly derived from that other variety (in this Act referred to as the ‘initial variety’) or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from the initial variety, while retaining the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety,

(b) it is clearly distinguishable from the initial variety,

(c) it conforms, except for the differences which result from the act of derivation, to the initial variety in the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety, and

(d) it may be obtained, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, by the selection of a natural or induced mutant, or of a somaclonal variant, the selection of a variant individual from plants of the initial variety, backcrossing, or transformation by genetic engineering;

‘hybrid variety’ means a variety in respect of which the production of such variety requires the repeated use of the protected variety;

‘variety which is not clearly distinguishable’ means a variety which is not clearly distinguishable from the protected variety.”.