Origin and history including a brief introduction to UPOV for protection of plant varieties, Protection of plant varieties under UPOV and PPV&FR Act of India, and Plant breeder's rights.
The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1961 to promote and protect new plant varieties. The organization's objective is to provide an effective system of plant variety protection, which encourages the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society. UPOV is based in Geneva, Switzerland and currently has 78 member countries.
UPOV's system of plant variety protection is based on the grant of exclusive rights to the breeder of a new plant variety, known as plant breeders' rights. These rights allow the breeder to control the production, sale, and distribution of the protected variety, and to prohibit others from doing so without their authorization. This system is intended to encourage plant breeding by providing an incentive for breeders to invest in the development of new plant varieties.
In India, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights (PPV&FR) Act 2001, provides for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers, and the establishment of a PPV&FR Authority to implement the act. The act is based on UPOV 1991 convention. It provides for the grant of Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) to the breeder of a new plant variety, as well as the recognition of the rights of farmers to save, use, exchange, and sell farm-saved seed/propagating material of the protected varieties.
The PPV&FR Act 2001, provides for the registration of new plant varieties and the grant of plant breeders' rights to the breeder of such a variety. The registration process includes a technical examination of the variety, to ensure that it meets the criteria for distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) . Once a variety is registered, the breeder is granted exclusive rights to produce, sell, and distribute the protected variety and to prohibit others from doing so without their authorization. This provides an incentive for breeders to invest in the development of new plant varieties.
To sum up, UPOV is an intergovernmental organization established for the protection of new plant varieties through plant breeders' rights. India's PPV&FR Act 2001, aligns with UPOV 1991 convention and provides for the protection of plant varieties, rights of farmers and establishment of PPV&FR Authority to implement the act, by providing plant breeders' rights to the breeder of a new plant variety, which encourages investment in the development of new plant varieties.