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to provide for the establishment of an Authority to give an effective system for protection of the rights of plant breeders and farmers, and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants, and to give effect to sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 3 of article 27 in part 11 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of intellectual Property Rights.

      WHEREAS the Final Act, embodying the results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, done at Marrakech on the 15th day of April, 1994 Provides for the establishment of the World Trade Organization:
      AND WHEREAS the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is part of the said Final ACT,
      AND WHEREAS India, having ratified the said Final Act, should, inter alias, make provision for giving effect to sub- paragraph (b) of paragraph 3 of article 27 in part II of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights relating to protection of plant varieties;
      AND WHEREAS, to give effect to aforesaid sub- paragraph (b) of paragraph 3 of article 27,it is considered necessary to undertaker measures for the Protection of the rights of the Plant breeders and farmers and to encourage the development of new varieties of Plants; 
      BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fiftieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

 



Short title, extent and commencement.








Definitions.










































54 of 1966



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PRELIMINARY

   1.(1) This Act may be called the Protection of plant Varieties and Farmers` Rights Act, 1999.

      (2) it extends to the whole of India.

      (3) it shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that Provision.
   2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
        (a) "Authority" means the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers` Rights Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 3;
        (b) "benefit sharing", in relation to a variety, means such Proportion of the benefit accruing to a breeder of such variety or such Proportion of the be6efit accruing to the breeder from an agent or a licensee of such variety as the case may be, for which a claimant shall be entitled as determined by the Authority under section 26;
        (c) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under variety;
        (d) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under clause (a) of sub-section (5) of section 3;
        (e) "conviction country" means a country which has acceded to an international convention for the Protection of Plant varieties to which India has also acceded or a country which has law on protection of Plant varieties on the basis of which India has entered into an agreement for  granting Plant breeders` right to the citizens of both the countries;
        (f) "denomination", in relation to a c variety or propagating material or essentially derived variety or its propagating material, means the denomination of such variety or its propagating material or essentially derived variety or its propagating material, as the case may be, expressed by means of letters or a combination of letters and figures written in any language;
       (g) "essential characteristics" means such heritable traits of a Plant variety which are determined by the expression of one or more genes of other heritable determinants that contribute to the Principal features, Performance or value of the Plant variety;
       (h) "essentially derived variety", in respect of a variety (in this clause to be called "the initial variety"), shall be said to be essentially derived from such initial variety when it--

             (i) is predominantly derived from such initial variety; or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from such initial variety, while retaining the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of such initial variety,
             (ii) is clearly distinguishable form such initial variety; and 
             (iii) conforms to such initial variety in the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of such initial variety except variation in such characteristics which result in the process derivation;
      (i) "extant variety" means a variety which is notified under section 5 of the seeds Act, 1966 or is eligible for Protection under section 13 or a variety about which there is common knowledge and includes the propagating material of such extant variety;
      (j) "farmer" means any person who cultivates crops either by cultivating the land himself or through any other person and includes a person who conserves and preserves, severally or jointly, with any person any wild species or traditional varieties, or adds value to such; wild species or traditional varieties through selection and identification their useful properties;
      (k) "Gene Fund" means the National Gene Fund constituted sub- section (1) of section 52;
      (l) "germplasm" means a plant, in whole or in parts, and includes its prop gules, namely, a seed, vegetative parts, tissue culture, cell culture, gene and deoxyribonucleic acid based sequences;
      (m) "member" means a member of the Authority appointed under clause (b) of sub-section (5) of section 3 and includes the member- secretary;
      (n) "Plant", in relation to a cultivated Plant and its wild relative, mean any organism or a Part thereof which belongs to the kingdom of plant and not included in the animal kingdom, but does include micro- organism;
      (o) "prescribed" means Prescribed by rules made under this Act;
      (p) "propagating material" means any Plant or its component or part thereof including an intended seed which is capable of or suitable for regeneration into a Plant;
      (q) "Register" means a National Register of Plant varieties referred to in section 12;
      (r) "Registrar" means a Registrar of Plant Varieties appointed under sub- section (4) of section 11 and includes the Registrar- General;
      (s) "Registrar- General" means the Registrar- General of Plant Varieties appointed under sub- section (3) of section 11;
      (t) "Registry" means the Plant Varieties Registry referred to in sub-section (1) of section 11;
      (u) "regulation" means regulation made by the Authority under this Act;
      (v) "seed" means a type of living embryo or propagule capable of regeneration and giving rise to a Plant which is true to such type;
      (w) "variety", in relation to Plants, means a Plant grouping within a single botanical Texan of the lowest Known rank, which can be-
            (i) defined by the expression of the fundamental characteristics resulting from a given genotype of the Plant grouping;
            (ii) distinguished from any other Plant grouping by expression of at least one of the said fundamental characteristics; and
            (iii) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being propagated which remains unchanged after such propagation and includes propagating Material of such variety, extant variety, transgenic variety and essentially derived variety.

Establishment of Authority.

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Authentication of order of Authority.



Delegation




 

3.(1) The Central Government shall, be notification in the Official Gazette, establish an Authority to be Known as the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers` Rights Authority for the Purposes of this Act.
   (2) The Authority shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of properties, both movable and immovable, and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued,
   (3) The head office of the Authority shall be at such place as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify and the Authority may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, establish branch offices at other Places in India.
   (4) The Authority shall consist of a Chairperson and nine ex officio member.
   (5) (a) The Chairperson to be by appointed by the Central Government, shall be a person of outstanding caliber and eminence in the field of Plant parietal research, or in the related field of agricultural development, and having not less than twenty- five years of Practical experience in either field.
        (b) The members of the Authority, to be appointed by the Central Government, shall be as follows, namely:--
            (i) the Agriculture commissioner, Government of India, Department of Agriculture and cooperation, New Delhi, Member, ex officio;
            (ii) the Deputy Director General incharge of Crop sciences, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, Member, ex officio;
            (iii) the Joint secretary incharge of seeds, Government of India, Department Agriculture and cooperation, Member ex officio,
            (iv) the Horticulture commissioner, Government of India, Department of Agriculture and cooperation, New Delhi, Member, ex officio;
            (v) the Director, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, Member, officio ;
            (vi) one member not below the rank of Joint secretary to the Government of India, to represent the Department of Bio- technology of that Government, Member ,ex officio;
            (vii) one member not below the rank of Joint secretary to the Government of India to represent the ministry dealing with matters related to Environment and Forest of the Government of India, Member, ex officio;
            (vii) one member not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India to represent the Ministry of Law of the Government of India, Member,  ex officio;
         (c) The Registrar General shall be the ex officio Member -secretary of the Authority. 
   (6) The term of office of the chairperson and the manner of filling the post shall be such as may be prescribed,
   (7) The chairperson shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and shall be subject to such conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and other matters as may be prescribed.
   (8) The chairperson may resign his office by giving notice thereof in writing to the Central Government and on such resignation being accepted, he shall be deemed to have vacated his office.
   (9) On the resignation of the chairperson or on the vacation of the office of chairperson for any reason, the Central Government may appoint one of the members to officiate as chairperson till a regular chairperson is appointed in accordance with clause (a) of sub- section (5).
   4.(1) The Authority shall meet at such time and place and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of business at its meeting (including the quorum at its meetings) as may be prescribed.
   (2) The chairperson of the Authority shall preside at the meeting of the Authority. 
   (3) If for any reason the chairperson is unable to attend any meeting of the Authority, any member of the Authority chosen by the members present at the meeting shall preside at the meeting
   (4) All questions which come before any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members of the Authority present and voting and in the event of equality of votes, the chairperson of the Authority or in his absence, the person presiding shall have and exercise a second or casting vote.
   (5) Every member who is in any way, whether directly, indirectly or personally, concerned or interested in a matter to be decided at the meeting shall disclose the nature of his concern or interest and after such disclosure, the member concerned or interested shall not attend that meeting
   (6) No act or proceeding of the Authority shall be invalid merely by reason of--
      (a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority; or
      (b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as the chairperson or a member of the Authority; or
      (c) any irregularity in the procedure the Authority not affecting the merits of the case.
   5. (1) The Authority may appoint such committees as may necessary for the efficient discharge of its duties and performance of its function under this Act.
   (2) The persons appointed as members of the committee under sub- section (1) shall be entitled to receive such allowances or fees for attending the meetings of the committee as may be fixed by the Central Government
   6. subject to such control and restriction as may be prescribed, the Authority may appoint such other officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of its function and the method of appointment, the scale of pay and allowances and other conditions of service of such other officers and employees of the Authority shall be such as may be prescribed.
   7. The chairperson shall be the chief executive of the Authority and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed.
   8. (1) it shall be the duty of the Authority to promote, by such measures as it thinks fit, the encouragement and development of new varieties of plant and protect the rights of the farmers and breeders with respect to those varieties of plant. 
   (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions. the measures referred to in sub- section (1) may provide for--
        (a) the registration of extant or new plant varieties to the researchers and breeders subject to such terms and conditions and in the manner as may be prescribed;
        (b) developing characterization and documentation of varieties;
        (c) compulsory cataloguing facilities for all varieties of plants, seeds and germplasm;
        (d) ensuring that seeds of the varieties registered under this Act are available to the farmers and providing for compulsory licensing of such varieties if the breeder of such varieties or any other person entitled to produce such variety under this Act does not arrange for production and sale of the seed in the manner as may be prescribed;
        (e) collecting statistics with regard to plant varieties, seeds and germplasm for compilation and publication;
        (f) ensure the maintenance or Register.
   9. All orders and decisions of the Authority shall be authenticated by the signature of the chairperson or any other member authorized by the authority in this behalf.
   10. The Authority may, by general or special order in writing, delegate to the chairperson, any member or officer of the Authority subject to such conditions or limitations, if any, as may be specified in the order, such of its powers and function (except the power to make regulation under section 87) under this Act as it may deem necessary.

Registry and offices thereof.


















National Register of plant Varieties. 

11.(1) The Central Government shall establish for the purpose of this Act. a Registry which shall be known as the plant varieties Registry.
   (2) The head office of the plant varieties Registry shall be located in the head office of the Authority, and for the purpose of facilitating the registration of plant varieties, there may be established, at such places, as the Authority may think fit, branch office of the Registry,
   (3) The Authority shall appoint a Registrar General of plant varieties who shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and shall be subject to such conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and such other matters as may be prescribed.
   (4) The Authority may appoint such number of Registrars as it thinks necessary for registration of plant varieties under the  superintendence and direction of the Registrar General under this Act and may make regulations with respect to their duties and jurisdiction.
   (5) The term of office and the conditions of service or the Registrar shall be such as may be provided by regulations.
   (6) The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, define the territorial limits within which a branch office of the Registry may exercise its function. 
   (7) There shall be a seal of the Plant varieties Registry.
   12.(1) For the purposes of this Act, a register called the National Register plant Varieties shall be kept at the head office of the Registry, wherein shall be entered the names of all the registered plant varieties with the names and addresses of their respective breeders, the right of such breeders in respect of the registered variety, the particulars of the denomination of each registered variety, its seed or other propagating material along with specification of salient features thereof and such matters as may be prescribed.
   (2) Subject to the superintendence and direction of the Central Government, the register shall be kept under the control and management of the Authority.
   (3) There shall be kept at each branch office of the Registry a copy of the register and such other documents as the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct.

Application for registration


Registrable varieties.






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