Recent Development
The Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Protection of Breeders’ Rights of New Plant Varieties (“Regulation“) prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (“Ministry“) entered into force after publication in the Official Gazette on 15 September 2021. The Regulation introduces some updates regarding the application process to be followed by a variety owner who wishes to benefit from the right to protection, some definitions in the Regulation on the Protection of Breeder’s Rights of New Plant Varieties, and the executive authority. The Regulation’s most important amendment is the introduction of the option to apply for registration electronically.
What’s New?
The Regulation introduces the following notable changes:
- The definition of “Ministry” in the Regulation has been updated to be “Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry”, and the definition of “General Directorate” has been updated to be “General Directorate of Crop Production”.
- A variety owner who wishes to benefit from the right to protection granted by the Law on the Protection of Breeder’s Rights of New Plant Varieties No. 5042, may apply to the General Directorate, either physically or electronically, by submitting the file consisting of the information and documents specified in Article 9 of the Regulation on the Protection of Breeder’s Rights of New Plant Varieties. Thus, while only physical applications were previously regulated, it has now become possible for applicants to submit their documents online.
- The application form and the documents in its annexes that need to be signed should be signed with either a wet-ink or electronic signature.
- The owner of the duty and authority to execute the provisions of the Regulation on the Protection of Breeder’s Rights of New Plant Varieties has been updated to be the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
Conclusion
The Regulation aims to amend some definitions in the Regulation on the Protection of Breeder’s Rights of New Plant Varieties, and update the owner of the authority and duty to execute this regulation. The Regulation details the application procedure to be followed by a variety owner who wishes to benefit from the right to protection. The major motivation behind these amendments is to speed up the applications and make them more effective by providing the opportunity to apply electronically.
