Registration of plant varieties and the rights it confers

1. What can be registered: sections 14, 15 and 29

An application may be made for a variety (section 14):

• of a genus or species notified by the Central Government under section 29(2), for new varieties and essentially derived varieties;
• which is an extant variety; or
• which is a farmers’ variety.

Criteria for a new variety (section 15(1) and (3)): novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity and stability.

• Novel: on the date of filing, its propagating or harvested material has not been sold or otherwise disposed of by or with the consent of the breeder for exploitation, in India earlier than one year, or outside India earlier than six years for trees and vines or four years for other crops. Trials do not destroy novelty.
• Distinct: clearly distinguishable by at least one essential characteristic from any variety of common knowledge in any country at the time of filing.
• Uniform: sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics, subject to the variation expected from its mode of propagation.
• Stable: its essential characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation.

An extant variety needs only distinctiveness, uniformity and stability as specified by regulations (section 15(2)), since it is by definition not new.

Denomination. Every variety must have a single distinct denomination (section 17). It cannot be registered if the denomination cannot identify the variety, consists solely of figures, is misleading or deceptive, is not different from existing denominations of the same or a closely related species, may hurt religious sentiments, is barred by the Emblems and Names Act, 1950, or consists of a geographical name (unless the Registrar considers it honest use) (section 15(4)). A denomination cannot be registered as a trade mark (section 17(4)).

Exclusions (section 29). No registration where preventing commercial exploitation is necessary to protect public order or morality, human, animal or plant life and health, or to avoid serious prejudice to the environment; and no variety involving any technology injurious to life or health, including genetic use restriction technology and terminator technology, may be registered.

2. Who may apply: section 16

Any person claiming to be the breeder; his successor; his assignee; any farmer, group of farmers or community of farmers claiming to be the breeder; any person authorised by these; or any university or publicly funded agricultural institution claiming to be the breeder. Applications may be made singly or jointly.

3. Procedure for registration: sections 18 to 24

• Application (section 18) in the specified form, filed with the Registrar, stating the denomination, with an affidavit that the variety does not contain any gene or gene sequence involving terminator technology, complete passport data of the parental lines and the geographical location in India from which the genetic material was taken, information on any contribution of a farmer, village community or institution, a description bringing out its DUS and novelty characteristics, a declaration that the genetic material was lawfully acquired, and the fee. Applications for farmers’ varieties are exempt from most of these and from fees (section 44). The applicant must also disclose use of genetic material conserved by tribal or rural families; wilful concealment may lead to rejection (section 40).
• Tests (section 19). The applicant supplies seed so that the Registrar can have DUS tests conducted, and pays the test fee.
• Examination and acceptance (section 20). The Registrar may accept the application absolutely or with conditions, require amendment, or reject it after hearing.
• Advertisement and opposition (sections 21 and 22). The accepted application is advertised, with photographs or drawings. Any person may oppose within three months on the grounds that he is entitled to the breeder’s right, that the variety is not registrable, that registration is not in the public interest, or that the variety may have an adverse effect on the environment. The applicant files a counter-statement within two months, or the application is treated as abandoned. The Registrar hears both sides and decides with reasons.
• Registration and certificate (section 24). If there is no opposition, or the opposition fails, the Registrar registers the variety and issues a certificate, sending a copy to the Authority for determination of benefit sharing. An application not completed within twelve months through the applicant’s default may be treated as abandoned. Between filing and decision the Registrar may issue directions to protect the breeder against abusive acts of third parties.
• Deposit (section 27). The breeder must deposit seed or propagating material, including parental lines, in the National Gene Bank.

Essentially derived varieties (section 23). The Registrar forwards the application to the Authority, which has tests done to determine whether it is derived from the initial variety, and if satisfied directs registration. The EDV must itself satisfy section 15. Its breeder gets the rights in section 28, but commercialising it needs the authorisation of the breeder of the initial variety on agreed terms, and where the initial variety is a farmers’ variety, the consent of the farmers who developed it (section 43).

Convention priority (section 31). An application filed in India within twelve months of an application in a convention country takes the foreign filing date.

4. Term of protection: section 24(6)

• The certificate is valid initially for nine years for trees and vines and six years for other crops, renewable on payment of fees.
• The total period may not exceed eighteen years from registration for trees and vines; fifteen years from notification under the Seeds Act for extant varieties; and fifteen years from registration in other cases.

5. Rights and privileges: section 28

The certificate confers on the breeder, his successor, agent or licensee the exclusive right to produce, sell, market, distribute, import or export the variety. For an extant variety, unless a breeder establishes his right, the Central Government (or the State Government where it was notified for a State) is deemed owner of the right. The breeder may authorise others on specified conditions, and agents and licensees must register their title with the Registrar. A registered agent or licensee may call on the breeder to sue for infringement and, if he refuses or neglects for three months, sue in his own name making the breeder a defendant.

The right is subject to:

• Researcher’s rights (section 30): any person may use a registered variety for experiment or research, and as an initial source for creating other varieties; but repeated use as a parental line for commercial production of a new variety requires the breeder’s authorisation.
• Farmers’ rights (section 39), including the right to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell farm produce including seed, except branded seed.
• Compulsory licences (section 47) and benefit sharing (section 26).

6. Surrender, revocation and rectification

The breeder may surrender the certificate (section 33). The Authority may revoke protection on the application of any interested person (section 34) if the grant was based on incorrect information, was made to an ineligible person, the breeder failed to provide required information or an acceptable alternative denomination, failed to supply seed to a compulsory licensee, failed to comply with the Act or the Authority’s directions, or where the grant is not in the public interest. Registration is forfeited for non-payment of the annual fee (section 35). The Register may be rectified (sections 36 and 37).

Revocation has been used: in December 2021 the Authority revoked the registration of PepsiCo’s potato variety FL-2027 on an application under section 34, after controversy over the company’s 2019 suits against Gujarat farmers, which it had withdrawn. The company took the matter to the Delhi High Court.

How this is examined

June 2025 asked “Define variety and explain the procedure for registration of plant varieties and its effect”, and February 2025 “Discuss the requisites for registration of varieties”. For the first, give section 2(za), then section 3 above step by step, and end with sections 24(6) and 28. For the second, give sections 14, 15 and 29, with the denomination rules and the terminator affidavit.