SOME ISSUES ABOUT PROTECTION OF RIGHTS REGARDING PLANT VARIETIES

Studying a new variety requires a lot of time, effort and money. Therefore, the rights to plant varieties is also one of the objects protected by law. In the following article, tinhanhphapluat.com would like to share to readers “Some issues of protection of ownership of plant varieties.

Firstly, it is necessary to understand what is the right to plants?
The 2009 Intellectual Property Law amended the definition, “The rights to plant varieties are the rights of organizations and individuals to new plant varieties they have selected, created, discovered, developed or entitled to.
Second, who are the rights holders of plant rights?
– Subjects of rights to protection of plant varieties are: Organizations and individuals that are protected rights to plant varieties are organizations and individuals that choose to create, discover and develop plant varieties or invest in their work. to select, create or discover and develop plant varieties or to transfer rights to plant varieties.
– The above-mentioned organizations and individuals include Vietnamese organizations and individuals; Foreign organizations and individuals of the countries that have signed agreements with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on plant variety protection; foreign organizations and individuals that have their head office and permanent address in Vietnam or have a plant variety production and trading establishment in Vietnam; Foreign organizations and individuals that have their headquarters, permanent address or a plant variety production and trading establishment in a country that has signed a contract with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on agreement on the protection of plant varieties.
Thirdly, on the general conditions for the protected plant variety:
Protected plant variety means a plant variety selected, discovered or developed, on the list of plant species protected by the State, promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which is new and distinct. , uniformity, stability and proper names.
1.About the novelty of plants:
A plant variety is considered to be new if the propagating material or the harvested product of such plant variety has not been sold or distributed by another person who has the registration or permission of that variety for other purposes. plant varieties in the territory of Vietnam one year before the date of application registration or outside the territory of Vietnam six years before the date of application for registration of plant varieties of woody plants and vines, four years for plant varieties other.
2. Regarding distinctness:
– A plant variety is considered to be distinctive if it is capable of clearly distinguishing it from other plant varieties which are widely known at the time of filing or the priority date if the application is entitled to priority rights.
– The widely known plant variety mentioned above is a plant variety in one of the following cases:
+ Plant varieties whose propagating materials or harvested materials are widely used on the market in any country at the time of filing of protection registration applications;
+ The plant variety has been protected or included in the List of plant varieties in any country;
+ The plant variety is the subject of an application for protection or an application for registration in the List of plant varieties in any country, if such applications are not refused.
3. Regarding the uniformity of plants:
A plant variety is considered to be homogeneous if it has the same expression of the relevant traits, except for the variations within the permissible limits for certain traits during the propagation.
4. Regarding the stability of plant varieties:
A plant variety is considered to be stable if its related characteristics retain the same expression as originally described, and are not changed after each propagation season or after each propagation cycle. propagation cases in cycles.
5. Regarding the name of the plant variety:
– The registrant must propose an appropriate name for the plant variety to the state management agency in charge of rights to the plant variety, that name must coincide with the name registered for protection in any Contracting State. with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam agree on the protection of plant varieties.
-The name of a plant variety is considered appropriate if it is easily distinguishable from the names of other plant varieties which are widely known in the same species or similar species.
+ The name of a plant variety is not considered appropriate in the following cases:
+ Only include numbers, except where the number relates to such characteristics or formation;
+ Violating social ethics;
+ Easy to misunderstand about the characteristics and characteristics of that variety;
+ Easily misleading the identity of the author;
+ Being identical or confusingly similar to a protected trademark, trade name or geographical indication before the date of publication of a registration application for protection of a plant variety;
+ Affecting prior rights of other organizations or individuals.
– Organizations and individuals that offer or market propagating materials of a plant variety must use the name of the plant variety as the name stated in the protection certificate, even after the expiry of the term of protection.
– When the name of a plant variety is associated with a trademark, trade name or similar indications with the name of a plant variety that has been registered for sale or sale, that name must still be capable of receiving. know easily.